Tale as Old as Time
by Be Summer Rain
Summary: The story of Lily and James, starting in first year. They hate each other immediately, but all that may change.
1. Right From the Moment

Disclaimer:  They're mine!  Alllllllll mine!  *evil cackle*  Orrrrrrrrr… not.  They're JK Rowling's.  ('Cause, you know, nobody knows that.)  And the chapter titles belong to Disney.

Author's Note: Each chapter title is based on a line from Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast, because it just seemed to fit.  So you get a quote at the beginning of each chapter, too.  Enjoy, and I appreciate reviews, even just little notes saying you read it and liked it (or hated it, but I'm hoping for the former).  If there are any factual errors, please point them out, and feel free to mention any characters you'd like to see.  I can't think of them all.  ANYWAY…here.

_Right From the Moment_

'Right from the moment when I met her, saw her, I said she's gorgeous and I fell'

Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters was bustling with the assorted yells of students, their pets, and the occasional irritated parent.  One of the irritated parents, incidentally, was currently yelling at her black-haired son.

"I don't _care_ if he set off Filibuster's Fireworks under the train, you _may not_ go meet him now, you are to _stay here_ and say goodbye to your father and me!  _No, don't you give me that look, James Potter, this is the first time you are going to be away from home, and – "  At this, the woman seemed lost for words, and recognizing the danger signs, James quickly gave his mother a hug, trying to stop the inevitable flood of tears._

"Mom – get off me – honestly, I'll be fine – just think, I won't be around to get into trouble anymore – "

"True," said the woman, suddenly becoming stern.  "Oh, very true indeed, you'll just blow things up and create havoc at Hogwarts instead – oh, I do pity your teachers!"

Mr. and Mrs. Evans nervously edged their way through the masses of people.  

"I don't understand why the station is so crowded, honey," said Mr. Evans.  "Where was your station again?"

"Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters," recited Lily.  A loud snort came from behind her mother, where a tall, pale girl was standing. 

"Nine and Three Quarters?  Bloody idiots, the lot of them."

"Petunia," sighed Mrs. Evans in exasperation, "please, hold back the comments for one day?  Now then, how are you to get to this station?  I, er, don't see it anywhere."

"Of course you don't, Mom," said Lily impatiently, "it's magical.  Muggles can't see it."

"Then can you see it, dear?"

"Well, no," muttered Lily, a little nervously.  Just then, a girl with waves of shining brown hair brushed past them.

"Bloody muggles," she said under her breath.

"Excuse me," said Lily, "but did you say Muggles?"

"Yeah?"  The girl brushed her bangs out of her eyes.  "What's it to you?"

"I'm, er, a witch, but I don't know, exactly, how to get to the station – "

"Like this," snapped the witch, and proceeded to disappear into a solid wall.

The Evans family gaped.

"Well, I guess that's it then," ventured Lily.  "I just…walk into the wall."

"This ought to be good," scowled Petunia.  Lily exchanged hugs and kisses with her parents, who only let her go after she promised to write every week.  She gave a stiff-backed Petunia a quick, obligatory hug, and turned to face the wall.  She walked towards it, having no idea what to expect.  

"Now, Remus," said Mrs. Lupin, pulling her son aside, "I know you're nervous, but remember what the Professor said – "

"Every precaution will be taken," supplied Remus dully.  "I know."

"And dear – please try to include Peter.  He doesn't make friends so easily, and his mother is so concerned about him fitting in.  He may not be the most exciting boy, I do realize that, but his mother and I have always been friends, and it would just be nice –"  She was interrupted by a shriek, and then a clatter.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry," cried Lily, her cheeks matching her hair.  Remus smiled.

"That's all right.  First time through?"

"Yeah," said Lily distractedly, collecting the bags that had gone everywhere when she had fallen.  Suddenly seeming to remember her manners, she straightened up.  "I'm Lily Evans, by the way."

"Remus Lupin."

"Do you, ah, know what we do next?"

"Well…no, not exactly, but I think we can follow the crowd."

"I say," said James, "were those your fireworks?"  The boy whirled around.

"Yes, but don't say it so loudly!"  In a lower voice, James continued.

"It was brilliant.  If you'll hang on a second, you'll see my own handiwork."  
"Oh?" said the boy, interested.  In answer, the robes adorning a mousy-haired boy near them began to flash pink.  

"Nice," muttered the boy, "very nice.  I'm Sirius Black, by the way.  You?"

"James Potter," replied James, grinning at the compliment.

"Hey!" cried the now pink-clothed boy.  "Did you do this?"

"Do what?" asked James innocently.

"Do…this!" sputtered the boy, holding up a fistful of his florescent robes.

"Why, I thought you wanted them that way!" said James.  "But can't you change them back?"  The boy turned slightly pink, though not nearly equaling the brilliant hue of his robes.

"I'll change them for you, Peter," said a new voice.  "Who did it?"

"Them," said Peter, pointing.  Remus raised his eyebrows.

"Well, now, I have to say it's nice work – and was that you that set off those fireworks?"  Sirius nodded.

"Not a bad start to the year," James added.  For a second, Remus seemed ready to smile.

"Could you give us a hand with these bags?  Oh, and Lily's too?"

"Who's Lily?" asked Sirius and James in tandem.

"That would be me," said the redhead, stepping out from a crowd, "and I can carry my own bags."

"Well, then," said Sirius, stepping back with his hands in the air in a surrendering gesture, "go to it."  Giving him a dirty look, Lily grabbed two bags in each hand and dragged them up the steps.

"I, uh, don't think she's one you want upset at you," warned Remus.

"No kidding," said James, watching her march up the stairs.

"Can I sit here?" asked Lily, opening a compartment door.  The girl she had seen in the train station was leaning back in her chair.

"Oh, it's you," said the girl, with obvious distaste.  "What do you want?"  Feeling she had made herself perfectly clear, Lily stared back at her.

"A seat, as I believe I said."

"I don't know if I can help you with that.  I don't do well with other people around."

W_ell, I can see that, thought Lily._

"I'm afraid you might have to learn," said a girl, coming up behind Lily.  She nodded to Lily, and rolled her eyes at the girl sitting haughtily in her chair.  "I don't suppose you could lower yourself to tell us your name?"

"Morena Aviance," sniffed the girl.

"Great," said Lily, "but as the train is now moving, we are going to be forced to invade your needed acres of personal space."  Lily and the other girl stomped to a seat facing Morena.  Nose in the air, Morena stood up to find another compartment.  

"Bye!" said the girl cheerily.  Morena didn't reply.  Lily and the girl shook their heads at each other.

"She could be interesting," said the girl, running a hand through her short, spiky blond hair.  "What's your name?"

"Lily Evans."

"Nice to meet you, Lily Evans.  I'm Asper Willow."

"Asper Willow?  That's your real name?"

"Yeah," groaned Asper, "my parents seem to think they have a sense of humor."

"So do mine!" cried Lily.  "They named me Lily and my sister Petunia.  Good thing they never had any boys, I can't imagine what names they'd get."  Asper grinned as a face appeared at the window in the compartment door.  

"Come on in," called Asper.  A tall girl with long, straight light brown hair made her way into the room.

"Is that girl gone?"  She was surprised by Lily and Asper bursting into laughter.

"You – you mean Morena?" gasped Lily.  "Yeah…we kicked her out…"  The girl broke into a grin.

"Excellent."

"Very," said Asper, and introduced herself and Lily.

"I'm Esedora Briant," said the tall girl.  "Nice to meet ya'll."

"There is," puffed Sirius Black as he yanked his trunk along, "nowhere – to sit – on this – bloody train."

"This compartment looks empty," called Remus, who was up farther ahead.  

"Excellent," said James.

"No – wait – there's three girls in it."

"Even more excellent," smirked Sirius.

"One of them's Lily."  James suddenly looked nervous.

"Uh, guys, maybe we should keep looking-"

"Nah," said Sirius as he threw the door open.  "Hello," he called.  The girls barely looked up from their conversation.

"Hi."  Undaunted, Sirius pushed his way in.  "I'm Sirius Black, and that's Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and I think that's James Potter, but he's trying to hide."

"Shut up, Sirius."  The boys sat down in seats across from the girls, who were still pretty much ignoring them.  

"So," continued Sirius, "what are your names?"

"Lily."

"Asper."

"Esedora."

"You girls nervous about the first day?" asked James.

"Why would we be?" asked Lily, shrugging a lock of hair over her shoulder.

"Cause it's brand new to you all?"  Lily turned and stared James straight in the eye.

"Am I supposed to be scared of new things?"

"Most people are."

"And has it taken you this long to notice that I'm not most people?"  James blinked.

"I thought so," said Lily, and returned to her conversation.  The two parties ignored each other for the rest of the trip.

_James is unbearable_, thought Lily as all the first years waited in the great hall.

"So," he was saying, "I do expect I'll get a position on the House Quidditch team."

"First years can't be on the team, smart one," retorted Sirius.

"They can make exceptions," shrugged James.  "And I'm sure they will.  I just have to make sure they see me fly."

"Yeah, yeah," said Sirius.  

"What do we do for the Sorting?" asked Peter nervously; McGonagall clearly scared him.

"Dunno," said James, "but I'm sure it's easy.  What house d'ya think you'll be in, Sirius?"

"Oh, Ravenclaw, definitely," he deadpanned, "what with my keen wit and sirius nature."

"I'll probably be in Gryffindor," said James in a rather loud tone of voice.  "It sounds by far the best."

"And James is, of course, the best," Esedora muttered in Lily's ear.  "Oh, I hope I'm not in his house."

The first years nervously followed McGonagall, treading on one another's robes.  They could see an old, patched hat sitting on a stool.  Half of the new students were staring at the ragged black hat, and the other half were gazing up at the starry ceiling.  But everybody snapped to attention as the hat opened up a rip in its side and began to sing.

"You come before me now, 

so nervous and afraid.

But step right up and I can tell 

of what it is you're made.

It's a gift I have

to peer inside your head.

I'll open up your mind -

those outer layers shed.

For Gryffindor is always

so noble, brave, and true.

If these things you do possess

then Gryffindor's for you.

In Slytherin, those with a will

to always be the best

will fit right in so easily - 

for Slytherin's their nest.

Ravenclaw will take

those with the brightest minds.

All those extra-clever ones

find Ravenclaw's their kind.

A Hufflepuff will always be

around to lend a hand.

If you are kind and loyal too,

then Hufflepuff's your land.

So come along, and lift me up,

and put me 'round your ears.

I'll tell you where you are to spend

all of your Hogwarts' years."

The new pupils gaped, while the older students applauded.  Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and began to call the names of the pupils.  

"Aviance, Morena!"  Morena strode forward and placed the ratty hat gingerly on her shining hair.  Lily could hear it mumbling, but couldn't make out any words until it opened its rip wide and yelled.

"Gryffindor!"  Asper moaned. 

"Gryffindor?" she said.  "I thought that one would be a Slytherin for sure."

"Bones, Amelia!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Briant, Esedora!"

"Gryffindor!"  

"Good for her," Lily muttered to Asper, "although now she'll have to share a dorm with Morena." They could see Esedora take a seat next to Sirius Black, who had already been made a Gryffindor.  There were a lot of first years.  Lily found herself zoning out until she heard her name.

"Diggory, Amos!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Evans, Lily!"  

"Go!" hissed Asper.  Lily stumbled up the stool and put on the hat.

"Ah yes, Miss Lily Evans," said the hat; it was altogether a disconcerting experience for Lily to have her headwear talking to her.  "You are destined for great things - but terrible.  Great, yes indeed, you would do well in Slytherin – still, something holds you back.  And what a mind!  But yet, Ravenclaw isn't right, either.  **Gryffindor**!"  Slightly shaken, Lily walked to a seat next to Esedora.

"Excellent!" cried Esedora.

"Yeah," said Lily, forcing a smile.  "Excellent."

_Terrible? _she wondered._  What terrible things am I destined for?_

"Jorkins, Bertha!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Longbottom, Frank!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Lestrange, Bellatrix!"

"Slytherin!"

"Lockhart, Gilderoy!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Lupin, Remus!"

"Gryffindor!"  Lily found herself massaging her stomach and wondering longingly when they were going to eat.

"Pettigrew, Peter!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Potter, James!"  The hat took longer with James; it seemed to be telling him something, and James began to look slightly sick.  But it finally declared him a Gryffindor, and he practically ran to the table.  The only available seat anywhere near Sirius was next to Lily.

"Mind if I sit here?"  Lily looked up without a trace of recognition.

"Should I?"

"It's me!  James Potter!"

"I'm supposed to be impressed?"  James shut his mouth and pulled out his chair rather harder than was necessary.  He didn't say a word through the rest of the sorting.

"Zabini, George!"

"Slytherin!"

At long last, food appeared on the table.  Lily watched James pile his plate with distaste.

"Pig."

"I'd rather be a pig than be you."

"I'd rather you were a pig, too.  Wouldn't have to deal with you; we could just throw a few scraps under the table."  Sirius leaned over and muttered into Remus' ear.

"I think James has met his match."

"Uhhhhhhh," said Sirius, looking ill.  "I don't feel so good."

"I'm hardly surprised," said Asper.  "Poor house-elves had to work overtime on your plate alone."

"Funny," said Sirius as they plodded along, following the prefect.

"I thought so."  They finally arrived at a portrait of a portly woman dressed in pink.

"Bubotubers," said the prefect, and the painting swung open.  They stumbled into the large common room, greeted by a blast of heat from the fire.

"Boys up that staircase, girls up that one.  There are to be no girls in the boys' rooms, and vice versa."

"Like we'd want to go in there," said James in a very audible whisper.  "Bunch of giggling girls."

"Do you have a problem with girls, Potter?" asked Lily.

"Only some, Evans," he replied, looking her straight in the eye.  

"I'd watch my step if I were you, Potter," said Lily, narrowing her eyes.  "You never know what might – accidentally happen."

"Oh, I'm so scared," scoffed James.  "Like you could do anything to me."

"Would you like to see me try?" demanded Lily, whipping out her wand.  James eyed it nervously.

"Like you know how to use that thing already."  Lily looked her wand over.

"I know it's sharp."

"_All right then, lights out, let's move along here," said the prefect.  Still shooting death glares at each other, Lily and James stomped up to their respective dormitories._


	2. Every Day Like the One Before

_Every Day Like the One Before_

'Every day like the one before.  Little town, full of little people.'

By the second year of Hogwarts, Lily's life had settled into something of a routine.  She, Asper, and Esedora had adjusted their beds as best they could to move them closer together.  Morena, the only other girl in their dormitory, kept to herself, unless she was somehow bothered.  As this happened rather a lot, Lily and her friends had learned it was best to mostly just ignore her, as they were currently doing.

"Whose sock is this?" demanded Morena.  Asper glanced up.

"Mine."

"And just what is it doing under my bed?"

"Dunno," said Asper lazily, "perhaps Esedora's cat batted it over."

"Esedora!" yelled Morena.  "Can you keep your stupid cat under control, or is that too much to ask?"

Esedora brushed her hair out of her eyes.  "I don't know, Morena, he doesn't understand English too well."  Morena whirled on her heel and stomped out of the room.

"Only five more years," sighed Lily. 

Asper rubbed her temples.  "Perhaps if we're lucky she'll be expelled before then."

Unfortunately for them, once you were in Hogwarts it was very hard to get out.  If you were caught doing something particularly evil, as the apprentice gamekeeper had a few years back, you were of course sent home.  But for those who simply felt overloaded with schoolwork, there was to be no respite.

"Can you _believe_ how much homework Professor Conterous gave us?" grumbled Asper.

"Oh, I know," said Esedora, staring glumly at her half-filled parchment.  "The only one who ever looks happy in that class is that idiot Snape."

Lily rolled her eyes.  "It's such a boring class."

"Not like you have any trouble with it," muttered Asper.

"I just pay attention," Lily said defensively.

"Yeah, well, so does Snape," said Asper knowingly, "when he's not staring at you."

Lily sat up.  "What?  He does not!"

"Um, yeah, actually he does," Esedora chimed in.  "It's quite obvious, really."

Lily shuddered and covered her face with a pillow.  "The only thing worse than that would be Potter liking me."

In Charms, Professor Flitwick was handing back their recent tests.

"Ha!" cried James.  "One hundred percent!   Let's see you beat that, Evans!"

Looking supremely unconcerned, Lily flipped over her test.  "One hundred and two."

"What?"

"It seems, Potter, that you missed the bonus question."

"What bonus question?"

"The one on the back, obviously."  

James flipped his test over and stared in horror at the unanswered question.

"Sorry, James," said Sirius, "but you know you'll never beat her in Charms."

"At least we have Transfiguration next," grumbled James, stuffing his test into his bag as the bell rang.

 In Transfiguration, they were trying to transform apples into soup bowls. 

"Ha!" cried James.  "I got it on the first try!"

"It's still red, though," smirked Lily, producing a pure white bowl on her second try.

"Well, excuse me, Miss Perfect," hissed James, "but at least mine turned into a bowl."

"And what do you suppose this is?" inquired Lily, waving her elegant porcelain bowl in front of James' face.  He snatched at it, the bowl slipped from Lily's grasp, and shattered on the floor.

"Honestly!" cried Professor McGonagall reproachfully.  "Miss Evans, I would have expected more from you!"

"But I didn't do it!" said Lily indignantly.  "It was Potter's fault!"

"Was not!"

_"Was too!"_

_"Was not!"_

_"ENOUGH_!" shouted McGonagall.  "Twenty points from Gryffindor each!"

Lily shot a murderous glare at James, who returned the look in kind.

"Little Miss Know-It-All," grumbled James as they went up to bed.  "Isn't she just perfect.  I seriously cannot stand her at all."

"No kidding, James," yawned Sirius, who had heard this speech before.

"Yeah, James, we get the point," added Remus.

"I'm hungry," whined Peter, who was bringing up the tail of their group.

"Aw, Peter, we're tired," groaned Sirius.  "Besides, we just ate."

"I'll go with you," said James, dragging his feet in the direction of the kitchens.  "I've got my cloak with me."  As they walked to the kitchens, huddled under James' Invisibility Cloak, they forgot to look out for other people.

"It's Evans," breathed James.  "What's she doing out this late at night?  Oooo, I could get her for this…"  

"How would you explain how you saw her?" Peter pointed out.  They squeezed themselves into a corner as Lily passed, her head bowed.

"Food," Peter reminded James.

"Right.  Food.  Got it."  They went on to the kitchens, slightly more cautiously.  But not quite cautiously enough.  Filch, the caretaker, came around a corner with his mangy cat, Mrs. Norris, just as Peter's stomach let out a loud grumble.  James elbowed him hard.

"Who's there, my sweet?" mumbled Filch.  "Students out of bed, students out of bounds, oh yes, it is going to be a good night!"

"Run," hissed James, and the pair proceeded to jog as best they could while staying invisible.  But then Peter tripped, and knocked over a suit of armor.  Abandoning all pretenses as well as the cloak, they sprinted up to the common room, cloak clutched tightly in James' sweaty hand.  Bent double and gasping for breath, James and Peter stood in the middle of the common room.

"Think you can last til breakfast, Peter?"

"Definitely," wheezed Peter, looking petrified.  They stumbled up the stairs to their room, changed into pajamas in the dark, and got into bed, still breathing heavily.

Lily propped herself up on her elbow and stared at her friend.  "Esedora?"

"Hmmmm?"

"What are you thinking about?"

Esedora rolled over.  "What do you mean?"

"You're usually the first one asleep," explained Lily.

"I don't know…just stuff…"

"Is something wrong?" asked Lily, concerned.

"No," said Esedora, "nothing's wrong…"  Lily could hear the smile in her voice.

"Ooo!  Ooo!" said Lily, bouncing.  

"Shut up, Lily," moaned Morena from her corner.

"Sorry."  Lily sat still.  "Well?" she asked in a whisper.  "Is it a boy?"

"Maybe," said Esedora resolutely.

"It IS!" crowed Lily.  "Who?  Who?"

"I am not telling."

Lily paused, crestfallen.  "Why not?"

"You'd make fun of me."

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Why would I make fun of you?" asked Lily, pretending to be hurt.

"You just would.  And anyway, I don't _really like him, he's just cute."_

"Oh, come on, you've gotta tell me!  I'm dying of curiosity!"

"Curiosity killed the Kneazle."

"Satisfaction brought it…er, never mind.  Just give me a hint, pleeeeeeeease?"

"Fine," sighed Esedora.  "A hint.  Then will you leave me alone?"

"Sure."

"He's got black hair."

Lily sat up, completely horrified.  "_Potter?"_

"No!" gasped Esedora.  "Course not!  I meant Sirius!"

"What?"

"Oops."

"You think he's cute?"

"Aw, would you bloody well go to sleep?"

"Well, well, well.  What a revelation."

"Shut up."

Lily curled up under her covers, fluffed her pillow, and rolled over.  "He is, though, I suppose.  In the proper light."  But Esedora had fallen asleep, smiling.

"Why don't we sit over here?" said Lily, grinning devilishy.

"Lily," groaned Esedora, but other than that made no resistance to being pulled over to near Sirius.  

"Oh, go on James, you've gotta eat something," Sirius told his friend, who was staring glumly at his toast and marmalade.

"No point.  I'm a reserve.  A reserve!"

"What?" said Lily, in mock astonishment.  "Our brilliant Potter is only a reserve on the House Quidditch team?  Why, it's an outrage!  A scandal!  We should file a protest!"

James glared at her.  "Funny, Evans.  What, did you come over here just to make fun of me?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Potter.  We came because – ow!"

"We came because ow?" mocked James.  "Articulate one, aren't you."  Lily , who was massaging her shin and avoiding Esedora's eyes, didn't bother to respond.

Annalisa Wood, the team captain, stood up and bellowed, "All team members to the locker rooms!"

"That's you," said Sirius, poking his friend to make him move.

"Hardly," smirked Lily.  "Although it is a cold day out."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked James grumpily.

Lily gazed innocently up at him.  "Well, I'm sure the _real_ team members will appreciate having the bench nice and warm."  James opened his mouth angrily, but before he could retort, his arm was snatched by Annalisa. 

"Come _on_, Potter, didn't you hear me?"

On the Quidditch field, the air was bitter and the sun was hidden behind a bank of clouds.  Rain was threatening, but was still holding off, as if it were taunting those who weren't sure whether or not to bring an umbrella.  Lily and her friends squeezed past a group of rowdy fourth year boys to their seats.

"Excellent," said Esedora, "we can see really well from here."

"Look," said Lily, pointing, "there's Potter on the bench."  She smirked.

"Annnnnnnnnd they're off!" screamed the commentator, Albert Finnigan.  "Oh no… I mean Slytherin scores," he corrected himself hastily after a stern look from several teachers.  

The Gryffindors weren't doing very well; half an hour into the game they were losing 60 to 10, despite their enthusiastic cheering section.  Anyone who wasn't a Slytherin wanted Gryffindor to win, but it didn't look like the Gryffindors would oblige.  After about fifteen more minutes, the Gryffindors had scored twice, which only served to enrage the Slytherins.  

"And that's quite a smash from the Slytherin Beater," called Finnigan, "wait – Smith's flying right in front of it – WATCH OUT!"

The next audible sound was a sharp crack as the Chaser and the Bludger collided.  A collective groan rose from the Gryffindor stands as he began to spiral towards the ground.  Quickly slowing him down, Hooch landed as well and ran over, followed by Madam Pomfrey.

"And it looks like Smith is being taken off the field – bad break for the Gryffindors, doesn't look like he's in much shape to play anytime soon."

During the time-out, the two teams landed on the ground.  As the Slytherins jeered, the Gryffindors huddled in a worried mass.  

"D'ya think he'll be ok?" asked their Seeker, Joshua Patil.

"I'm sure of it," said Wood shortly, "Pomfrey's the best in Britain.  But now we're short a Chaser, and being down thirty, we can't afford it."

"What about – what's his name?" asked Patil.

"Potter?  I don't know," said Wood doubtfully, "he hasn't been doing too well in practices."

"I don't see as we have much of a choice, Annalisa."

"You're right, I guess.  Oy!  Potter!"  

James looked up in confusion.  "What?"

"Grab your broom and get over here!"  A murmur emanated from the crowd.  A girl's voice in particular could be heard.

"_Potter?  Are they_ insane_?"_

James also heard_.  Nope_, he thought cheerfully_, they've just finally recognized that I can play.  Madam Hooch's whistle cut through his thoughts._

"Ready to begin play?"

"God, I hope so," Annalisa muttered under her breath.  "Okay, team!  Strategy Three!  Let's do this!"  The Gryffindor team rose into the air, amid cheers and catcalls.  

"Ready, James?" asked Patil.  James looked slightly green and didn't answer.  But as soon as play began, he shifted into automatic.

"Nice dive by Patil there," said Finnigan, "oh, good maneuver by Wood, the Gryffindor team seems to be spurred on by the loss of a key player, but oh, Potter seems to be up to the challenge, he's gained possession, he's speeding towards the left goalpost – POTTER SCORES!  And Slytherin takes possession, whoops, snatched away by Abbott, whoops, he misses, retrieved by Potter – and he scores again!  60-50, Slytherin is the current score, ladies and gentlemen."

Esedora leaned over and muttered to Asper, "He likes being commentator waaaay too much."

"Slytherin heads for a goal – blocked by a tricky move of Wood's, very rare, that one.  Quaffle taken back by Potter, goodness, that boy can fly, look at him dodge those Bludgers – oh no, two Chasers have ganged up on him – underhanded pass to Abbott – ABBOTT SCORES!  The game is tied!  And Malfoy drops the Quaffle, snatched by Longbottom, dodges the Slytherin Seeker – passes to Potter – Potter scores again!"

Amidst the confusion, nobody noticed that Patil had gone into a dive – 

"What's that? Is it – yes!  Patil has the Snitch!  Game over, Gryffindor wins!"

The stands erupted into cheers, yells, and squeals.

"Wasn't he _incredible_?" sighed a first year girl behind Lily.  "I could just _die!  Good thing they got him off the bench!  Oh, look, he's waving this way!  Oh, wow!"  _

Lily pantomimed throwing up very vividly to her friends.  "Oh, is he going to be _unbearable…"_

Lily remained in a very bad temper for the rest of the day.  She stomped inside the castle, scowled at her lunch, glowered at the several fawning girls now surrounding James, and glared at everyone she saw in the halls.

"Honestly, Lily," said Esedora, "it's not that bad."

_"Yes it is_," growled Lily.  "He was arrogant enough without being a Quidditch star.  Now everyone's going to act like he's some kind of hero."

When Peeves zoomed by, loudly singing an off-key rendition of 'All Hail King Potter,' Lily's friends feared she might explode.

When Lily and James ran into each other in the common room – quite literally – most people hid behind a chair, couch, or another student, in case they turned violent.

"Ow!  Why don't you watch where you're going, Evans?" snapped James.

"Why don't you, Potter?  Oh wait, I'm sorry, I forgot.  You're a world famous Quidditch star now, aren't you.  Do forgive me, oh great one, for I'm only a mere mortal," said Lily sarcastically.

"Erm – Lily – " said Asper, tugging on one of Lily's arms, "why don't you come on up to bed?"

"Yes, why don't you," said James.  "It's not like I want to look at your face any more."

"I was about to say the same to you," said Lily.  

"I beat you to it, then.  Too bad, Evans, 'cause around me, you'll always be second best."

Lily narrowed her eyes.  "See you in the morning.  Most unluckily," she retorted, while being dragged towards the dormitory stairs.

"Just watch," muttered Asper to Esedora.  "Those two'll end up together."

Esedora stifled a laugh.  "Right," she said sarcastically.  "I can see it now."


	3. Strange, No Question

_Strange, No Question_

'Look there she goes – that girl is strange, no question.'

"I cannot believe we're finally third years," said Lily cheerfully, as she lugged her bags onto the train.

"I know," said Esedora, "it's about time."

"Four more years!" piped up Asper.  The other two girls groaned.  

"Ah, you had to go and rain on our parade, didn't you," said Lily.  The other two girls stared at her quizzically.

"Er…what parade?" asked Asper.

"Muggle expression," said Lily, blushing.  

Esedora nodded knowingly.  "Like letting the cat out of the rag. "

"Something like that, yeah," said Lily with a smile.  With a lurch, the train started to move.  The three girls leaned back in their chairs and stared out the windows.  

"I don't suppose all this rain is a bad omen," said Esedora.

"Course not," said Asper.  "Don't tell me you believe in omens and all that superstitious stuff."

"I don't, really," said Esedora defensively, "it just seems rather ominous."

"Yeah, but the sun'll be out any minute," added Lily.

James poked his head in the door.  "Hello!  Anybody in here?"

"And there it goes," sighed Lily.  Her friends giggled. 

"Shhh," Lily hissed.  They all grew quiet and huddled down in their seats.

They heard Sirius' voice.  "Anybody in there?"

"Don't think so," James called back.  "Looks empty."

"Oh, good," said Remus.  "We finally get a compartment."

Lily took out her wand and muttered an incantation as quietly as possible, aiming her wand a few seats ahead.  

"What'd you do?" whispered Esedora.

"You'll see," Lily said with an evil grin.  Soon James came down the aisle, bag in each arm.  The girls waited with bated breath as he came closer and closer.  Then suddenly, he fell flat on his face, and the girls erupted in laughter.  

"Invisible string charm, Potter," cried Lily jubilantly.

"Really funny, Evans," said James, gingerly picking himself up off the floor.  "C'mon, guys, let's find somewhere else."

"You do that, Potter," declared Lily.  "See you around."  

James turned to glare at Lily.  "Oh, definitely."

"I swear, the Sorting gets longer every year," complained Asper, rubbing her stomach. 

"Oh, I know," said Lily, who was sitting rather limply next to her.

"But it's so interesting!" said Esedora, sitting up straight and peering at the new students.  "I always try and guess which ones are going to which houses!"  Unfortunately, some of them noticed her staring, and shrank away from her gaze, looking quite terrified.  Lily and Asper exchanged exasperated glances, and went back to looking glumly at their all-too-empty plates.  "Like that one there," said Esedora, stretching her neck to get a better view.  "Definite Ravenclaw material."

"Which one?" asked Sirius, who was seated next to her.

"That one there," said Esedora, trying to point her out as unobtrusively as possible.  "The tiny one – "

"They're all tiny – "

"Yes, but she's skinny and spindly.  There, in the huge brown sweater – the dorky one - with the glasses falling off her nose – "  

Sirius suddenly looked straight ahead.  "_Thapersiser," he hissed._

"What?"

Sirius was suddenly struck with an acute cough.  Some coughs, however, sounded rather more like words that actual coughs.  "That (cough) girl (cough) is (coughcough) Peter's sister."

Esedora's mouth fell open.  "Are you _serious?" she mouthed.  "No way!  Although – " she looked between Peter and his sister – "I suppose I can kind of see a resemblance."_

Esedora was slightly giddy the rest of the night.  She hummed to herself as she brushed her teeth (not an easy thing to do when you have a mouth full of toothpaste), smiled as she put on an oversized T-shirt reading 'I took the plunge at Witch's Wonderworld,' and didn't pay much attention when her friends were talking to her.

"I don't know what was in that beef brisket – I feel a bit off – Esedora, are you listening to me?" demanded Asper.

"Hmm?  Oh, right.  Brisket.  Off.  Got it."

Lily and Asper exchanged glances once again.  "Sirius," coughed Lily.  Esedora didn't even seem to register the comment.

"Yeah," she sighed.  For the third time that night, Asper and Lily raised their eyebrows at each other, and then burst into peals of laughter.

Esedora wasn't quite sure what they were laughing at, but she joined in, as it seemed the proper thing to do.

"Honestly, though," said Lily when she had regained her breath, "how could you like one of Potter's friends?"

"Always gotta bring up Potter, don't you," teased Asper.

"What?  I do not!" cried Lily, outraged.  "And if I ever do talk about him, it's to complain, not to moon over his bloody _eyes_ or anything!"

"Smile," corrected Asper absentmindedly.

"What?" gasped Lily.

"Er…nothing?"

"_That was not nothing!" exclaimed Lily.  "You – you traitor!  You've joined the ranks of Pottergirls!"_

Esedora, who had gone back to gazing dreamily at the wall, chose not to join in the conversation.

"Pottergirls?" said Asper, starting to laugh.  "What, have we made up a word now?"

"Yes," said Lily defiantly.  "It means those blithering idiots who gather in groups and giggle about his _smile," she finished sarcastically.  _

"I see."

"And you!" cried Lily, building up steam again, "you're one of them!  How could you?!"

"I am _not_," sighed Asper, "but aren't I allowed to say who I think is cute?"

Lily paused, mouth open.  "_You think he's **cute?!?!"**_

"Um…no?"

"You _do_!  You _said_ so!  I _heard_ you!"

"For Merlin's sake, Lily," said Asper impatiently, "all I said was that he's cute.  I never said I wanted to go have a snogfest."

"_You DO?"_

"_NO!  Honestly, Lily!"  But their conversation was cut short by a creak on the stairs.  Esedora snapped out of her reverie and sprang, cat-like, to the door.  She eased it open, and they all saw Morena, grinning triumphantly, standing behind it._

"Well, well, well," said Morena, striding in.  "Isn't this interesting."  

Asper promptly pretended to be asleep.  Morena said nothing more, but got ready for bed, smirking all the while.

The next morning, as Asper was shoving her feet into her shoes, she paused and looked thoughtfully at Lily, who was the only other person still in the dormitory.  "Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember last night?"

"No, Asper," said Lily sarcastically, "no, I seem to have forgotten it while I slept."

"What were you saying about Potter's eyes?"

"What?  I didn't say anything about Potter's eyes."

"Yes, you did.  I remember.  You said you didn't talk about them."

"Exactly," said Lily, standing up.

"But you said other girls did."

"So?"

"So, you think – that is, you think that other girls think – that he has nice eyes."

"And how long have you been thinking about this?" demanded Lily.

"I can't think that much this early in the morning," groaned Asper, flopping backwards onto her bed.

"C'mon," said Lily, pulling her up.  "I'm hungry."

The three girls were seated as far away as possible from Morena, as she kept sneering at them, and then looking pointedly at James.  Asper was steadily turning paler, which made her hair look abnormally dark.  She was picking at her food, and nibbling a bit of toast.  

"Don't worry," said Esedora, "Morena is all talk.  She won't do anything."

"Yeah," agreed Lily.  "It's not like she's on speaking terms with Potter, anyway.  When would she have a chance to tell him anything?  And besides, what could she tell him?  It's not like he doesn't know that half the female population of this school is in love with him."

"It's not that," groaned Asper.  She suddenly fled the table.

Lily stared after her, puzzled.

"Beef brisket," said Esedora knowingly.

Lucius Malfoy came up suddenly, clapping a hand onto Lily's shoulder.

"Get your hand off her," growled Sirius.

"Your parents are Muggles, are they not?"  

Lily nodded coolly.  

"Then I shall be glad to," he said, removing his hand with distaste.  James stood up so fast his goblet tipped and soaked Peter's plate with orange juice.

"I don't suppose you'd like to tell us what you mean by that?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Shove off, Potter," Lily hissed, "I can handle him."

"As a matter of fact," said Malfoy, malice barely concealed in his tone, "I have a message for you."  He extended a rolled up piece of parchment.  Lily took it gingerly.  "What?  I don't even get a thank you?" he asked, raising a blond eyebrow.

"Thank you for leaving," snapped Lily.  

Malfoy gave a short bow.  "Always a pleasure."

"Isn't it, though?"

After things had been explained to Asper, who was feeling somewhat better, Lily unrolled the parchment.  Asper and Esedora were hovering behind her, reading over her shoulder.

'I think you're bright, I think you're witty,

I think your red hair's really pretty.

I like your eyes; they're so bright green,

the most beautiful I've seen.

This may seem a little new

but, you know, I do like you.'

Lily gaped.  Her friends stared.  No one moved for a full ten seconds.  

Asper found her voice first.  "Who's it from?"

"No idea," said Lily, flipping the parchment over.  "No name."

"Hang on," said Esedora, peering intently at the handwriting, "I think I recognize the handwriting…but…no…I can't think of it."

"Of course," said Lily, "it could just be a trick to make a fool of me."

"Perhaps.  But then the person trying to trick you would probably sign someone's name," said Asper.  

"I guess."

"That's kind of strange handwriting," said Esedora.  "The letters are sort of heavier at the end.  Any fingerprints?"  Asper and Lily stared at her.

"Aw, don't go all Nancy Drew on me," said Lily.   
"Who?"

"Never mind," said Lily, going to throw the note away.  "It's just nonsense."

"Don't do that!" cried Esedora, leaping across the bed to grab the poem.  "Don't you want to keep it?"

"Whatever for?"

"'Cause it's romantic!"

"Esedora, I hate to break it to you, but it's really not a good poem."

"That's not the point," said Esedora impatiently.  "You ought to save these things." 

Lily rolled her eyes.  "You really are a hopeless romantic."

Esedora shrugged.  "There are worse things to be."

At long last, fourth year rolled around.  At the first breakfast of the year, it became quite apparent that neither James nor Lily had mellowed out over the summer.  Their respective friends tried to keep them distracted, but they seemed to be unable resist inserting rude comments whenever possible.

"I have a headache," groaned Peter.

"Me too," said Remus, though he looked much worse than Peter did.  "Honestly, couldn't they hold it in for five seconds?"

"Not until the world is flat," said Sirius, coming up behind them.

"Until what's flat?" asked James, just beyond Sirius.

"Nothing," they chorused.

"Hmm," he mused out loud, "not suspicious at all, that.  And you!"  He rounded on Remus.  "Where were you the twenty-second of June?"  To his great surprise, Remus turned pale and began stammering.

"Just – just at home – being bored – "

"You don't look so good," said Sirius concernedly.

"I'm fine," shrugged Remus, the color returning to his face in great measure.  "Just tired."

"So," said James, "when does Quidditch start?"

"Right, then," said Professor Conterous, "I'll be putting you in partners to work on this particular potion.  She walked around the room, pointing at random people, and occasionally dodging an angry hiss of steam.  "Let's see, Willow, you'll be working with Aviance."  

Asper swore under her breath.

"Evans, with Lupin, Potter, you go with Mr. Pettigrew, Black, why don't you work with Malfoy, and Briant, you work with Snape."  She continued around the room, which was rapidly filling with greenish colored smoke.  She waved her wand in a bored sort of matter and the smoke vanished.  Most students were complaining loudly at their pairing.  Morena was muttering angrily to a Slytherin, and both Asper and Sirius looked ready to kill the professor.  Lily was fine with her assignment, but Esedora kept whispering in a shocked sort of manner.

"I have to work with _Snape_?"

"All right then, move next to your partners, hurry up now."

Lily grabbed her cauldron and books and scooted over to sit next to Remus, who was rubbing his temples.  He caught her eyes, and muttered, "Smoky."  She nodded in agreement and the pair set to work.

A few seats down from them was Sirius, who was sitting with his arms folded and looking as stubborn as possible.  Across the room was Malfoy, leaning on the table and looking supremely unconcerned.  Neither of them was budging.  Esedora was keeping as far away as possible from Snape, whose hair was dragging on the paper.  James was beginning to look frustrated, and seemed to be trying to explain something for the fifth time.  Asper and Morena were ignoring each other and chopping the gillyweed rather harder than was necessary.

"Right, then," said Lily, shoving her hair behind her shoulders, "we need to stir it counter-clockwise for six strokes.  Why don't you do that while I measure the dried flobberworm."

As the class period went on, it became apparent which partnerships were better.  Lily and Remus' potion was precisely the clear green it should be, whereas James and Peter had produced an opaque turquoise colored liquid.  

"Excellent," said Conterous, peering at Lily's cauldron.  "Very excellent.  Ten points to Gryffindor."  Lily and Remus smiled, partly at the happiness of earning points, and partly at Sirius and Malfoy, who were arguing silently but aggressively.  Then  -_ BANG.  _

"You idiot!" screamed Morena.  "You put the gillyweed in all at once!  It had to be added gradually!"

"It was just as much your fault!  You spilled the boomslang skin," retorted Asper.  Throughout all the commotion, Lily noticed Esedora slip a piece of parchment into her pocket.

"Packing again, Remus?" asked James.

"Um, yeah.  Gotta go – "

"Visit your aunt.  Or wait, what is it this time?  Is your mother sick?  Did your Kneazle die?" supplied Sirius.

"Look," said James, in a kinder tone, "why don't you just tell us?  We'll understand."

"I can't," murmured Remus.  "I would if I could.  Don't you see?  I just – can't."

"All right," said James, "but you know, we will find out."

"Yeah, you probably will," sighed Remus.  And then, in an inaudible tone, "I just hope it's not for a long time."

"Bye," said Peter, who was reading Quidditch Through The Ages.

"See you," said Remus, leaving the room with a trunk that banged against his leg with every step he took.

"Remus!  Where are you going?" asked Lily, who was writing an essay in the common room.

"I'm – I'm going to my godfather's.  He wants me to visit him every so often."

"Well, have fun," said Lily distractedly.  "When're you coming back?"

"Sunday afternoon, most likely."  

"Well, see you then, I guess."

"Yeah.  See you."

"Esedora?"

"Yeah?"

"What was that paper you put in your pocket in Potions?"

"Oh!  I can't believe I forgot!"  Esedora fished the parchment out of her robes.  She handed it over to Lily, who stared at it blankly. 

"Do Potions essay?"

"It's Snape's," said Esedora, seeming to think that this explained everything.

"And?"

"You don't see it?"

"No."

"Look at his handwriting."

Lily frowned at the oddly one-sided letters.  "Bloody hell."

"I knew it was Snape!" cried Asper triumphantly.  "I knew it!"

"James!" hissed Sirius.  "Get over here!"

"Hmm?" muttered James sleepily.  "Stay away from her, Snape…"

"What?"

"Snape's bothering Lily."  James was clearly still half-asleep.

"No, he's not," said Sirius impatiently, "and would you wake up and get over here?"  

James stumbled up next to where Sirius was standing at the window.  "What?"

"Look," said Sirius, pointing, "you can see the Shrieking Shack."

"You did _not _get me up to see that."

"No, look at it," said Sirius.  The house was shifting, and they heard a loud shriek.

"That place is haunted, Sirius.  Everyone knows that."

"No.  It's only haunted sometimes.  Only on some weekends."

James looked at Sirius, shocked.  "You can't be serious."

"I am."

"But – but how could it be Remus?"  Just then, the low roar of a werewolf met their ears.  The hairs rose on the back of their necks and they stared at each other.  

"He's never here for the full moon," said Sirius in an awed whisper.

"He looks sick a lot."

"He wouldn't tell us where he was going."

"_Cool," breathed James.  "So – are we going to tell him we know?"_

"We have to," said Sirius, shrugging.  "It'd be too hard to pretend we don't."

"Yeah, you're right.  Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Fine.  Hey – what were you dreaming, anyway?"

James shrugged uncomfortably.  "I dunno."

"You were talking about Lily," said Sirius shrewdly.

"Was I?"

"You were indeed.  So, what precisely were you dreaming?"

"Nothing," said James, shuffling his feet uncomfortably.

"You like her."  
"_DO NOT_!"

"Shut up, James, it's three in the morning.  And I'm afraid you just proved me right.  If you didn't like her, you'd be a little quieter about it."  
Knowing it was futile to argue, James just glared at Sirius.  "So what if I do?"

"I cannot believe this!  You hated her!"

"Yeah, I did.  But – I don't know – she's different this year."

"Seems the same to me," said Sirius, shrugging.

"Just something about how she carries herself.  She's not intimidated by anything.  And her eyes – "

Sirius began snickering uncontrollably.  "You do realize she still hates you, right?"

"Yeah.  I know.  I don't know how to change it, either."

"Considering that it's Lily," said Sirius, "I don't really think there's any way to change her mind."

Early the next morning, Sirius and James sat down on Peter's bed and tried to explain what they had learned.  

"You know the Shrieking Shack?" asked Sirius.  Peter nodded; he hated that place.

"Well, it was shrieking," said James.

"Hence the name," added Sirius.

"And we noticed – "

"That it's only – "

"Haunted when Remus is gone," finished James.

"Do you get what we're telling you?" asked Sirius.  

Peter's eyes were large and fearful.

"Remus is a _ghost_?'


	4. We Tell Jokes, I Do Tricks

_We tell jokes, I do tricks_

'We tell jokes, I do tricks with my fellow candlesticks.'

It was your average charming domestic scene.  At six in the morning in a small English town, the sprinklers were going, the sun was rising, and the houses were lined up neatly in rows.  Silence lay like a blanket over the tidy homes, broken only by a few rather annoying birds perched in a tree.  One bird observed with distaste a large brown owl flying about.  The owl flew in an open window, upsetting a coffee set upon the table, and causing a scream to ripple through the dew-drenched morning.

"Get that thing OUT of here!" screeched Petunia.

"It's only an owl," said Lily, hurrying to remove the letter tied to the owl's leg.  "He won't hurt you."

"I hate birds," whimpered Petunia, who was pressed up against the opposite wall.  Lily, who was reading the letter, didn't notice.

"What is it, dear?" asked her mother, bustling around with the newspaper.

"Hogwarts stuff," explained Lily, as Petunia grumbled incoherently.  "Supplies I'll need, information about the train, and – what's this?"  Lily pulled out an extra sheet of paper.  "Mom!" she exclaimed.  "I'm a prefect!"

"Really?" cried her mother joyfully.  "That's wonderful!"  After wrapping Lily in a bone-crushing hug, she asked, "Er – what does that mean, exactly?  I mean – it is good, isn't it?"

"It just means I have extra responsibilities – and extra privileges, of course," explained Lily.  "It'll look really good on my records."

"Big deal," said Petunia sarcastically.

"Well, I think it's wonderful," declared her mother.  "Oh – Harry!  Guess what!  Lily's been made a prefect!"

Lily's father beamed.  "Why, that's excellent.  We're so proud of you!"

Nobody noticed Petunia leave the kitchen and go outside.

~

"So, anyway," Lily was saying, "I'm not entirely sure what I'll be doing as prefect.  I do wonder who the other one from Gryffindor is."

"No idea," said Asper, who was gazing out the window at the hills flying by.

"Me neither," added Esedora as she skimmed Witch Weekly.

"Well, I know it won't be Potter, so other that that, I really don't care," said Lily.  "What's that?"  

They could hear voices coming from the corridor.  "Every year," a voice was saying.  "Every single year we get gypped out of a compartment."  Suddenly the door was flung open, and the speaker was revealed to be Sirius.  He groaned at the sight of the girls, and hollered back to his friends, "This one's taken too."

"And this is the end of the train!" called Remus.

"You can sit here if you want," said Asper with a quick look at Esedora.

"Sure you don't mind?" said Sirius.

"Yeah, it's fine," said Asper, before either Lily or Esedora could open their mouths.  Sirius' friends trooped in behind him.

"Hey!" cried Lily, looking at Remus' robes.  "You're the other prefect!"

"No, you are," grinned Remus.  "When are we supposed to go up to the prefect's compartment?"

"In a little while, I think," said Lily.   "Ten minutes or so."

"Just do it!" they heard Sirius whisper loudly.

"Shut up!" hissed James.

"Do what?" asked Lily.

"Nothing," said James, glaring at Sirius.

"Oh, go on, just ask – " Sirius wheedled.  "You know you want to."

"Ask what?"

"Um –" James was fiddling with his robes.  "I was just, y'know, wondering, if, um, maybe sometime, if you wanted to, er, well, you see – "  
"Spit it out, Potter," said Lily crossly.

"Gouwimmesomtime."

"Was that a sneeze or a question, Potter?"

James took a deep breath.  "I was _wondering if you'd be willing to go __out with me sometime."_

Lily stared at him as if he had gone completely mad.  Then, in a quiet, deathly polite tone, she asked, "Are you absolutely bloody _insane_?"

By this point, James had gone bright red.  "Er…um…no…"

"_For your information, James I-don't-__care-what-your-middle-name-is Potter, I would not go out with you in a _million_ years and then some.  It isn't funny to pretend you like someone when you're only going to make fun of them."_

"But – but I'm not pretending," said James in a strangled sort of voice; he seemed to be cowering under the death glare Lily was giving him.

"Oh, I'm _so_ sure," said Lily sarcastically.  "You know perfectly well I hate you."

"But – um – "

"I can see it now.  It is, of course, _every day that one of the most popular boys at Hogwarts asks me out.  I'm not falling for it, Potter.  You can just go humiliate someone else."  She turned to Remus, who winced.  "Come on, we should probably go to the prefects compartment now."_

After they had left, Sirius turned to a rather stricken James.  "Well, that went well," he announced cheerfully.  James sank into a chair, unable to answer.

~

The first few weeks of school were rather uneventful.  All their teachers seemed to think that piling on massive amounts of homework was the best way to prepare them for the O.W.L.S. at the end of the year.  Most students, of course, had vastly different opinions on the subject.  Gryffindor won its first Quidditch match of the year, against Hufflepuff, largely due to the 120 points that James scored, and he made sure everyone knew it.  By this time, he, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had developed a name for themselves – The Mauraders.  The Mauraders were without question the most popular boys in school.  James was well-liked by the female population because of his Quidditch skills and charming smile, whereas girls liked Sirius for his looks and rebellious attitude.  Remus attracted girls who were looking for the quiet, sensitive type, and no one was really sure why Peter hung around with them.  So basically, the Mauraders were adored by most and reviled by some.  Most teachers barely tolerated them, but Dumbledore seemed rather fond of them, so they tended to get away with a lot.  Other teachers, like Conterous, caught them at wrong-doing whenever possible.

"James Potter!  What _are you doing?" she shrieked.  James stood up quickly._

"Nothing, Professor," he said innocently.

"We'll just see about that," she snapped, and bent to inspect the suit of armor he had been kneeling by.

"No – Professor – don't touch that – it's – "  It was too late.  As soon as Conterous prodded the foot of the armor, it had ejected a black, smelly liquid.  She leapt to her feet, sputtering indignantly.

"Young man!  What is this?"

"Stinksap," whispered James miserably, looking down at his feet.

"And I suppose you think it's funny that I'm covered in the stuff?"

"No, Professor," he said, although the students who had paused to watch the show were guffawing.

"50 points from Gryffindor!" she yelled, then stomped off, presumably to try and rid her face of the black substance.  

"Bad luck, mate," said Sirius.  "Ah well, not the end of the world.  Stinksap's not that big a deal."

"Yeah, but slightly modified Stinksap is."

"What?"  
"When she tries to wash it off, her face will turn blue."

Sirius stared at James.  "Well.  That could complicate things a bit."

"You think?"

"I look forward to seeing her at dinner, though."  With that happy thought, the pair headed off, only to stop five minutes later in front of a gang of Slytherins.

"Well, well, well," sneered Lucius.  "Look who it is.  Potty and Blackie, out for a stroll."

"Move," growled Sirius.

"I'm afraid we don't feel like it, do we?"  The next instant, Sirius and James had whipped out their wands and muttered every hex they could think of.  The effect was rather interesting; one Slytherin seemed to have grown an extra pair of ears, while another was covered in furry purple moss.  Esedora, who had been coming out of a classroom, turned abruptly and hurried to the Gryffindor common room.

"I cannot believe him!" she cried to her friends.  "He's such a jerk!  He and Potter just hexed them because they were in their way!  They hadn't even done anything yet!"

"I'm sorry, Esedora," said Lily sympathetically.  "Well – not about Potter."

"So, you're over him then?" asked Asper.  The two girls stared at her.  "What?" she said defensively.

"Yes, Asper, most definitely over," said Esedora.  

"You want to go eat now?" asked Lily.

"No, I'm not really that hungry.  You guys go ahead."

"All right," said Lily, casting a worried glance behind her.

~

"We've done it," hissed James, pulling Remus into a corner.

"Done what?" he asked, bewildered.

"Become Animagi."

Remus' jaw dropped.  "You didn't."

"We did."

"But – but how?  You have to register and everything, and it's really hard, and – are you _crazy?"_

"We're unregistered."

"What?  That's – that's so illegal!  Is Peter one too?"

"Yeah.  Sirius and I helped him."

"How could you possibly learn how?"

"Sirius and I have been studying and working at it for ages," whispered James.  "Three years."

"But – why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asked James.  "The thing is, Sirius and I thought it'd be cool for a long time, before we knew about you.  But now that we know you're a werewolf, we've been working extra hard on it, and helped Peter into it too.  Now we can still keep you company, even at the full moon."

"I can't let you come with me."

"Aw, come on, Moony.  Sirius and I are big enough to keep you in check."

"You are?  I mean, what are you?  Wait – Moony?"

"Code name," explained James.  "We had to be careful talking about it, in case we were ever overheard.  So you're Moony, Peter's Wormtail, Sirius is Padfoot, and I'm Prongs.  Got a name for Snape, too – Snivellus."

"What animals are you?"

"Peter's a rat, so he can control the Whomping Willow."

"How did you know –"

"We just do.  Sirius looks kind of like a Grim, and I'm a stag."

"I can't believe this.  Why would you guys do that?"

James shrugged.  "We're your friends."  Through the darkness, James could see Remus smile hesitantly.

~

"Honestly!" screeched Lily.  "Why don't you guys just _grow up_!"  She had tried to take a drink from her goblet, but the Mauraders had used some spell to hold her juice in the goblet, so she couldn't drink it.  They were practically falling over themselves in hysterics.  Esedora gave them dirty looks as they left the table.

"It was incredibly juvenile," said Asper as they walked along the hallway.  "I thought they'd outgrow it by fifteen."  

Later that day, when they opened the portrait, they stared in disbelief at the common room.  It was covered in a foot of water.

"What happened?" asked a first year, crowding up nervously behind Lily.

"Nothing," sang out another voice, "it's just a spell, not real water.  Go on, step in it."

"Sirius Black, you are in so much trouble!" exclaimed Lily.  Sirius took out his wand and waved it casually at the shimmering common room.  The 'water' disappeared.

"For what?" he asked, grinning devilishly.  Lily threw up her hands in an exasperated manner and stomped to a chair by the fire.  Seeing Remus, she stood up again.

"Remus, I really wish you would keep your friends more in line.  You're a prefect, and if you're involved in these pranks – which _are not funny_," she added, seeing Sirius trying his best to listen in, "you could get in serious trouble."

"I know," said Remus uncomfortably, "but there's not much I can do."  Lily rolled her eyes and went to bed.

The next morning, Lily came down in an apologetic mood.

"Look, Remus," she said, "I'm sorry I yelled at you last night.  I was just angry at the tricks and stuff – "

"It's all right," said Remus, flashing her a quick smile.  "You were right, anyway."

"What are all these people standing about in groups for?" Lily asked, suddenly noticing bunches of twittering girls huddling together, casting glances at awkward boys.

"Christmas Ball," said Remus waving his hand in the direction of a poster.  "Just announced this morning."

"Christmas Ball?" asked Lily.  "Since when do they have a Christmas Ball?"

"Since now, I guess.  I think they're trying for more school unity.  'Course, it's only for fourth years and up, so I guess the younger ones don't get to be unified."

The incessant giggling throughout the rest of the day began to get on Lily's nerves.  Everywhere she turned she was confronted by people wondering who was going to ask them, what music would be played, and what on Earth were they going to wear?  Lily, who planned to go with her friends, was sick of the coupling-up fever.  Esedora and Asper agreed with her – until, of course, they were asked by two Ravenclaw boys.  Lily wasn't sure where this left her.  However, a week after the initial announcement, she was asked by the person she least expected.

"Er, Lily?"

"It's Evans to you, Potter."

"Y'know, the Ball is coming up, and, well, I was wondering if, um, maybe you'd want to go with me."

"Did I not make it clear enough before?" demanded Lily.  "_NO_, Potter.  Find some empty-head fluff to take."

That night, James conferred with his friends.  Peter, having little experience in these matters, mostly listened in rapt attention.

"What you've got to do," Sirius was saying, "is make her jealous."

"How do you know so much about it?" asked Remus.

"Remus, where _have_ you been these last few years?" smirked Sirius.  

James looked thoughtful.  "So, I take one of her friends?"

"You could do that," said Sirius slowly, "but I don't think that approach would work so well in this case.  For Lily, I think it'd work better if you took one of her enemies."

"Like?"

"Well, what about that one snooty girl?  Wavy brown hair?"

James wrinkled his nose.  "She's a little, um, Slytherin-like."

"Yeah, she is, but she's also gorgeous. As in, stop-dead-in-your-tracks.  And Lily hates her.  She'd be perfect."

"I guess you've heard who I'm going with," said Morena as she breezed into the dormitory.

"Frankly, I couldn't care less," said Asper.

"Only the most popular boy at Hogwarts."

Lily didn't even look up from shuffling the Exploding Snap cards.  "Who, Lockhart?"

Morena laughed airily.  "Of course not.  I'm going with Jamsie."

"Who the heck is Jamsie?" asked Lily.

Morena laughed again, a little more airily and a little more annoyingly.  "Just like you not to know that.  James Potter.  Maybe you've heard of him?"  
_BANG._  The cards had exploded, singing Lily's eyebrows, and going well with her shocked expression.  Morena raised an eyebrow.  "No wonder you don't have a date yet."

~

Professor Conterous was moving around the room, inspecting the contents of various cauldrons.  As the bell rang, she quickly assigned a two foot essay due the next day.  Lily had spilled the contents of her bag, and as she bent to pick them up, she heard a voice above her.

"Lily?"  It was Snape, nervously pushing his hair behind his ears.  

"What do you want?"

"Are you going with anybody to the Ball?"

"N – er, why?"

"'Cause if you're not, you could always go with me or something."

"Um, I'm sorry, but I already have a date.  Maybe I'll see you there," said Lily, and dashed out of the room as casually as possible.  The problem, of course, was that she did not actually_ have_ a date.  Being a prefect, she was expected to show up at the Ball, and then Snape would know she had lied to him.  It wasn't like she particularly cared about him catching her in a lie; after all, while he wasn't as evil as Malfoy, he was still a Slytherin.  It would simply be awkward showing up alone.  So when she got to the common room, she headed over to a table.

"Oh, hi, Lily," said Remus.

"Hi.  Listen, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but – " Lily was looking rather desperate – "d'ya have a date yet?"

Remus shook his head.

"'Cause I kinda told Snape that I did, only I don't, and I'd really really really appreciate it if you'd go with me.  As friends, of course."  Lily said all this in a rush.

"Um...I don't know if I can…"

"Don't worry, it's not at the full moon," Lily reassured him.  "I already checked."

"Oh, good.  I mean – wait – what?"

"Honestly, Remus, you thought you could hide it forever?"

"No," said Remus, looking miserable.  "I just hoped nobody would find out."

"Why?"

Remus stared at her as if she had gone mad.  "Isn't it obvious? No one wants to be friends with a werewolf," he said bitterly.  

"Well, I do.  And the other Marauders clearly do.  We're not friends with a werewolf, Remus.  We're friends with you."

Remus blushed.

"So, anyway, the Ball?"

"Oh, yeah, sure.  I'll go with you.  I'd look pretty stupid too without a date."

"Thank you so much!  You saved me from a date with Snape!"

"Eww," said Remus in a disgusted sort of tone.  "Glad to be of service."  There was, of course, the question of exactly how he was going to explain this all to James.

~

The Great Hall's ceiling was dotted with what seemed like millions of stars.  Students were milling about, drinking punch and talking to their friends.  A song started up, and most people moved onto the floor.

"Lily?" said Remus.  "I have something to confess."

"What?"

"I can't dance."

Lily started laughing.  "I thought it was something serious!  I wasn't planning on doing much dancing, anyway.  We can just eat and talk."

Remus looked vastly relieved.  "What about?"

"Well," said Lily, chewing on a cookie, "there is something I've been wondering about."

"Which is?"

"Peter," stated Lily.

Remus nodded.  "You want to know why he's our friend."

"Well, that sounds mean, but yeah, something like that."

"It kind of started because his mother and mine were best friends through Hogwarts.  Then when James turned Peter's robes pink – "

"Oh yeah," said Lily, giggling.  "I remember that."

Remus smiled too.  "I think James felt a little guilty about that, and we all stuck together on the train.  We're the only ones in our dormitory, anyway, so it'd be really mean to leave him out.  Besides, we like him.  He's funny."

A change of beat caused the pair to look up.  A slow song had started.

"Well, Remus, if you're not going to dance with her, I will," declared James, walking up with Morena on his arm.

"Jamsie," she pouted, "you're supposed to be my date."

"I reckon I can dance with who I want to, though," replied James.  "Come on, Lily."

Lily sat on the bench and glared at him.  

"Oh, go on, Lily," said Remus.  "It's Christmas."

"I'm gonna regret this," muttered Lily, standing up.  James grinned and bowed, leading by the hand out onto the dance floor.

"M'lady."

"I'm not anyone's 'lady,' said Lily.

"Of course not.  My mistake."

Lily looked at him suspiciously as he put his hands on her waist.  They started swaying to the beat.

"Lily?"

"What now, Potter?" 

James stared straight into her eyes.  "I don't really know how to say this –"

Lily looked down and broke away.  She muttered a quick good-bye to Remus and hurried up to her dormitory, leaving a very confused James standing alone on the dance floor.

~

Lily rubbed her eyes, and realizing what day it was, groaned.

"Shut up, Lily," Asper called sleepily.

"We have to get up, guys.  O.W.L.S."

Esedora buried her head in a pillow.

Finally, their second to last exam rolled around – Defense Against the Dark Arts.  Lily was seated in a corner, but she could see James yawning and messing up his hair, and she could see Asper, who was seated behind Sirius.  She finished her exam and looked around the room.  Remus was still working hard on his exam, whereas James was doodling on the back of his sheet.

"Quills down, please!"  Professor Flitwick collected their exams.  "You're free to go!"

Lily went to join her friends and headed outside to relax by the lake.  Asper was taking an extremely long time.  They finally got out to the lake, though, and took their shoes and socks off to dangle their feet in it.  Lily heard laughing behind her, and when she turned, she saw Snape on the ground, James and Sirius standing over him with their wands out.

"I cannot believe this," said Lily, jumping up, and running over to the group.  "Leave him _ALONE!" she shouted._

"All right, Evans?" asked James in what he clearly thought was a smooth, suave sort of tone.

"Leave him alone, Potter," repeated Lily, glaring at him.  "What's he done to you?"

"_We-ell," said James slowly, "it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…"  The onlookers laughed, which angered Lily even more._

"You think you're funny," she snapped, "but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter.  Leave him alone."

James quickly saw a way to turn the situation to his advantage.  "I will if you go out with me, Evans.  Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Lily gritted her teeth.  "For the last time, Potter, I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid."  Lily stomped back towards the castle.

Over her shoulder, she could hear Sirius say, "Bad luck, Prongs."  A sudden burst of laughter made her spin around again.  Snape was upside down.  Noticing a bit of blood on James' face, Lily resisted a smile, and said, "Let him down!"

James let him collapse into a heap on the ground, and as he stood up, Sirius said, "Locomotor Mortis!"

"_LEAVE HIM ALONE!" screamed Lily, yanking her own wand out.  She couldn't stand it when people picked on other people for the fun of it._

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James warily.

"Then take the curse off him!"

James heaved a great sigh and removed the curse.  "You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus -"

Humiliated, Snape snapped, "I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

Lily paused.  "Fine," she said icily.  "I won't bother in the future.  And I'd wash my pants if I were you, _Snivellus."  _Did I really just say that_? she thought.  _

"Apologize to Evans!" James bellowed, his wand on Snape.

"I don't want _you_ to make him apologize," Lily shouted.  "You're as bad as he is!"

"_What?" cried James.  "I'd _NEVER_ call you a – you-know-what!"_

Lily was spitting mad.  "Messing up your hair 'cause you think it looks cool to look like you've just gotten off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors hexing anyone who annoys you because you can – I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with your fat head on it.  You make me _SICK_."  Lily spun around and went towards the castle, not looking back.

Disclaimer:  That last scene is almost exactly from OotP.  And as usual, all I own are Asper and Morena.

Author's Note:  Wow, am I updating fast or what!?!  I had a long weekend, so I had a lot of time to work on it.  The next chapter probably won't come as soon.  Y'know, for the 3 or 4 people who actually care.  ;)


	5. Life is so Unnerving

Disclaimer:  I own Esedora too.  I just forgot to mention it.  Sorry, Esedora.  Oh, and Conterous.  Not sorry about that one so much.

_Life is so Unnerving_

'Life is so unnerving for a servant who's not serving.'

"Sixth year kind of has an ominous ring to it, doesn't it," said Lily as they headed towards the Great Hall.

"Yeah," agreed Esedora, "I know what you mean.  It seems so _old_.  Next year will be our last year!"

Asper sighed.  "Let's not talk about that," she said.  "But I do feel old.  Remember how huge the sixth years looked when we were first years?"

Lily smothered a giggle.  "They were _huge!  Surely we're not that big?" she asked as they sat down at the Gryffindor table._

"I don't know, Evans," said James, "one could say – ouch!"  James had received a swift elbow in the ribs from Sirius, saving him from getting into a subject that was perhaps not advisable.

"What could one say, Potter?" asked Lily innocently.

"Erm – that these first years are just abnormally small?"

Remus raised an eyebrow.  "Nice save," he muttered.

The Sorting, as usual, took ages.  Everyone dug in with intensity once the food appeared.  Several people were trying to hold conversations, but as most everyone's mouth was full, this proved to be difficult.  The majority of the students simply gave up on conversing and stuffed their faces.  A few, such as Sirius, could have kept on going, but the students eventually lumbered up to bed.

"Ohhhhhhh," moaned Asper.  "I don't feel so good."

Lily sat down on her bed.  "Not surprising, as the only person who ate more than you was Sirius."

"Oh, I can really feel the sympathy.  Thanks, Lily."

"Sorry," said Lily, standing up and patting her friend on the shoulder.  "Hope you feel better."

"Yeah," said Esedora, yawning.  "G'night."

"Night."

"Night."

"Night," said Morena in a squeaky voice.

~

A few weeks later, Sirius came bursting into the boys' dormitory, beaming.

"What're you grinning all over yourself about?" asked James.

"Overheard some Ravenclaws talking," explained Sirius.

"Really," said James, with no particular interest.

"About Lily."

"Oh?" asked James, with a bit more interest this time.  "What'd they say?"

"Not much.  They were talking about girls in general.  Just mentioned her in passing.  One of 'em said that he didn't think anyone could handle her."

"He's probably right.  And I think she'd object to being something to be handled.  In fact, I know she would."

"Yeah, but you know what they mean," said Sirius, waving his hand in frustration.  

"But why did that make you so happy?"

Sirius leaned over and whispered with a conspiratorial air, "Well, after that, some other girl said that 'she'd make a good match for that James Potter, though.'"

"Great," said James sarcastically.  "Now random people are matching us up."

"You can admit you like her by now, Prongs," said Sirius, looking at him in annoyance.  

"So?"

"So, isn't it a hopeful sign that other people think you'd be good together too?"

"Not really," said James.  "Honestly, Padfoot, get a grip.  It's not like it's ever gonna happen."

"We'll just see about that," declared Sirius.  James eyed him apprehensively.

~

"Lily!" cried Esedora, bouncing through the doorway.  "Lilylilylilylily!"

"What, Esedora?" asked Lily, who was lying on her bed working on Charms homework.

"I just heard some boys talking about you!"

"Color me excited," said Lily, turning back to her book.

"But don't you want to know what they said?" asked Esedora.

She looked so disappointed that Lily sighed.  "Fine, Esedora.  Tell me what they said."

"Well," said Esedora, assuming an air of great authority, "they were Ravenclaws, fifth years I think.  And they were talking about lots of girls, and they said, 'What about that Lily Evans?'  And another boy said, 'Ha!  No one would ever be able to handle her!'"

Lily bristled.  "Handle me?  Did they really say that?  Honestly, what am I, a hyperactive puppy?"

"But then a girl came up and said, 'she'd make a good match for that James Potter person, though.  They fight all the time.'"

Lily pulled a face.  "Oh yes, a really good basis for a relationship there.  Fighting.  Yes indeed.  Why didn't I see it there before?"

"Just thought you ought to know," said Esedora before bouncing out of the room again.  She poked her head back in.  "Another guy said, 'it's too bad he's still dating Morena Aviance, though.'  And his friend said, 'too bad for Lily, not for him.'"

Lily threw a pillow at her friend, and the brunette disappeared.

~

"Hogsmeade next weekend," said Asper as Lily sat down next to her and grabbed a bowl of oatmeal.

"Good," said Esedora, "I need some more candy."

"And I need a new quill," said Lily.

"I just want to get out of this castle," said Asper with a sigh.   "For a place so big, it sure seems small sometimes."

"Like now," muttered Lily as the Marauders sat down near them.

"Think we can make it to Zonko's, Padfoot?" asked James in a loud voice.

"I dunno, Prongs," said Sirius in an equally loud voice.  "Perhaps we can squeeze it in."

"Honeydukes," Peter pointed out, following suit in the volume, though he wasn't quite sure why.

Lily rolled her eyes.  "Let's make a point to stay away from them."  Both Asper and Esedora looked they were going to argue but decided against it.  Lily didn't notice, and the trio finished their breakfast and headed out of the Hall.

"At least we can look forward to the weekend," said Asper, resigning herself to another week of classes.

"Not if we're bogged down with homework," Esedora pointed out, "and knowing our teachers, we will be."

"Homework," sighed Lily.  "Has to ruin everything.  We can still make it to Hogsmeade, though, no matter how much.  We don't have to stay long."

~

It was abnormally cold for November.  The Hogwarts students were wrapped tightly in cloaks, resembling large furry boulders.

"Where to now?" asked Lily, tucking her new quill deep inside her cloak.  They caught a whiff of chocolate and turned simultaneously towards Honeydukes.  Once inside, they moved slowly around the displays of candy.  Lily stocked up on Whizzing Fizzbees, while Esedora picked out three different kinds of chocolate.  Asper was staring with interest at the display of Blood-Flavored Lollipops.

"Who would eat these, I wonder?"

"Vampires, I suppose," said Lily.  "Hurry up and pick something; Esedora and I want to go get a Butterbeer."  Asper snatched a pack of Every Flavor Beans and a sugar quill.  Once she had purchased the items, they headed back into the freezing wind.  Finally they arrived, teeth chattering, at the Three Broomsticks.  The blast of heat nearly knocked them off their feet.  They picked a table in the corner and stowed their packages underneath it.

"Three Butterbeers, please," Asper told the young witch who was taking their orders.  When their drinks arrived, they stopped chattering for a minute to take a few gulps.  They heard the door jangle and turned towards the sound.  Sirius and James had entered, grandly sweeping off their hats.

"Two Butterbeers please, Rosmerta m'dear," Sirius said to the young witch.  She giggled and went off to get the order.  Lily turned back to the conversation, which was now a debate over which of the workers at Honeydukes was the cutest.  Lily had just gotten bored with the topic when Professor Dumbledore came in.  He had to duck to keep the tip of his hat from knocking over the chandeliers.  He bent over even further to talk to Mademoiselle Rosmerta, who nodded towards Lily's table.  He came towards them, a grave expression on his face.

"Hello, Headmaster," said Lily automatically.

"Good afternoon," he said to the three of them.  "Lily, I was wondering if you might accompany me back to the castle.  I'm afraid there are some things we must discuss."

"Of course, sir," said Lily, nervousness creeping into her voice.  "Is it – is it serious?"

Dumbledore bowed his head.  "I'm afraid so.  And I cannot allow you two to come along," he said, seeing Asper and Esedora ready to rise.

"Well, see you at the castle later, then," said Esedora, in a falsely cheery voice.

"Yeah," said Lily in a monotone, slipping on her cloak.  "See you."

~

"Sugar quill," said Dumbledore quietly, and a moving, circular staircase appeared.  Neither of them had said a word the entire way back, and they were silent as they went up the stairs to Dumbledore's office as well.  "Please sit down," he said, taking a seat behind his desk.

"Professor…" Lily began nervously.

Dumbledore sighed.  "You must know how I regret having to tell you this.  But as Headmaster, I'm afraid it's my responsibility."

Lily fidgeted.

"Do you know who Voldemort is?"

"Kind of.  Isn't he sort of going around killing people?  And the Ministry can't catch him?"

"Yes.  Only, the Ministry cannot see what a threat he may become.  Cannot see, or will not see...  Voldemort, though half-blood himself, has an intense hatred towards Muggle-borns – and Muggles."

Lily stood up.  "I should get back-"

"You need to hear this."

"I don't think I want to."

"Lily," said Dumbledore gently, "look at this picture."  He slid a copy of the Daily Prophet over to her.  On the front page was her house, with an odd skull-like shadow above it.

"That's my house," said Lily, in a voice barely more than a whisper.  Dumbledore bowed his head.  Lily scanned the article, her eyes catching on a few phrases.  

'The Evans family home…'  'Lily was at Hogwarts at the time…'  'Daughter, Petunia, out with friends…'  'Mr. Evans has not been found…'  'Mrs. Evans was found in the doorway, dead…dead…dead…'

The words swirled in Lily's ears.  "No," she muttered.  "No!" she cried in a stronger voice.  "You're lying to me!  They're fine!  This isn't funny!"

"It isn't.  Oh, Lily, I'm sorry," said Dumbledore, his head bowed.

"It's my fault, isn't it," said Lily, barely audibly.

"It is most certainly not," said Dumbledore sharply.  "Don't ever think that."

"My sister will," mumbled Lily, "if I hadn't been a witch…" Lily tried to rise from her chair, but the room spun wildly, and she collapsed.

When she woke she found herself in the Hospital Wing, being tended to by Madam Pomfrey.  "Awful shock, simply dreadful," she was muttering.  "Here, dear," she said, noticing that Lily had come to, "it's a potion for dreamless sleep."  Too exhausted to argue, Lily fell back against her pillows, lost in unconsciousness once more.

Lily had a steady, albeit monitored, stream of visitors over the next few days.  She wasn't ready to go back, she told Madam Pomfrey, who made no objection.  Asper and Esedora were almost continually by her side.  Remus came by also, but admitted that he really didn't know what to say.  Nobody did, but she didn't mind.  Talk hurt her ears.  She wasn't allowed to take the dreamless sleep potion ("Too much can be dangerous") anymore, and her dreams were fraught with images of her parents disappearing in a bright flash of green light. 

She awoke one night to a soft rustling noise.  Groggily opening her eyes, she saw a tall figure put something on the table by her bed.  "Hi," she said, unable to think of anything more appropriate to say.  

The figure stood up straight, startled.  "Oh.  Hi."

"Who are you?"

"James.  I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to wake you."

"That's all right," said Lily, yawning.  "I don't sleep well anyway."

"I'm sorry."

"You already said that," Lily pointed out.

"No, I mean, about everything.  I'm really sorry about your parents," said James, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"Thanks," she said, not wanting to cry in front of him.

"And, er, well, I just hope you feel better soon.  And I should let you sleep."  He paused, then left the Hospital Wing.  Lily drifted off to sleep again, but her parents didn't visit her dreams.

The next morning, she was surprised to find a card next to her bed.  Her memories of the past night were very foggy.  The card had a picture of a lily on the front, and the inside read simply, 'I'm sorry.'  James had scrawled his name rather messily on the bottom.

Madam Pomfrey was quite astonished to find her bed empty when she came around with the breakfast tray.

~

Lily slipped into the Great Hall.  Not too many people noticed her entrance, for which she was grateful for.  She didn't want to cause a lot of fuss on her first day back.  Asper and Esedora were conversing in low voices, and Lily went to join them.

"LILY!" they cried in unison, then jumped up to hug her.  "How are you?"

"Hungry," said Lily, sitting down and helping herself to toast with marmalade.  Her friends grinned, relieved that she was feeling a little better.

"So," said Asper, munching on a piece of bacon, "there's a Quidditch match this afternoon.  You up to going?"

"Yeah, I am," said Lily.  "Who's playing?"

"Us against Hufflepuff," said Esedora.  "I heard a rumor that Lockhart – Hufflepuff in our year – was playing Seeker."

Asper frowned.  "Isn't he the one who thinks he's the most wonderful thing that walks upright?"

Esedora giggled.  "Yep, that's him."

~

"You sure you're okay?" asked Esedora concernedly, staring at Lily's face and consequently tripping up the steps.

"No, I'm not.  But I will be," said Lily.  "Anyway, I really should be outside, you know, with human contact."  Asper and Esedora nodded, and led Lily to a seat in the Gryffindor box.

"Annnnnnnnnd they're off!" cried Albert Finnigan.  "Potter takes the Quaffle – ah, stolen by Diggory – but he's got it back – dodges the Keeper –"  A loud groan echoed from the Gryffindor side; one of Hufflepuff's Beaters had sent a Bludger straight in front of James, forcing him to jerk his broom upwards.  In that moment of diversion, Diggory had taken back the Quaffle.

"And Diggory's flying back towards the Gryffindor goalposts – snatched by Abbott – pass to Potter – fast broom Potter's got there – POTTER SCORES!"  The stands erupted in an assortment of cheers and boos.  Patil, now a seventh year and the team captain, was flying around the pitch, looking intently for the Snitch.  Lockhart, on the other hand, was flashing a buck-toothed smile at anyone who happened to look his way.  

"I wonder what's wrong with his head?" asked Asper in confusion; Lockhart was continually jerking his head in a manner that was probably supposed to make his  brown hair flip cheekily.

"Nice work by the Gryffindor Beaters there – allows Smith to take back the Quaffle – underhanded pass to Potter – Potter passes to Abbott – Abbott shoots – ah, blocked by Jorkins – retrieved by Smith – Smith scores!  Play resumes – what on earth is Lockhart doing?"  For Lockhart had gone into a deep dive, watched disdainfully by Patil.   "Has he seen the Snitch?" Finnigan wondered.  The students were either standing up to watch or screaming at Patil to get going, couldn't he tell Lockhart had seen the Snitch?  

"Ah, he was feinting!" cried Finnigan triumphantly.  "Good dive – too bad it didn't work –"  Lockhart was nodding deeply to his Hufflepuff fans, accepting the noise as cheers.

"Potter's got the Quaffle," said Finnigan, suddenly remembering that there was another part of the game still going on.  "He's flying towards the goalpost – Jorkins won't be able to stop it – she's too far away – and in comes Diggory, intent on blocking that goal!  He knocks the Quaffle from Potter's grip!  And they're diving for the dropped Quaffle – neck and neck – Potter's got it!  Back towards the goalposts, closely tailed by Diggory – clearly there's some rivalry here – ooh, tricky move by Potter – he's shaken Diggory off – Potter scores again!  Seekers are still, well, seeking – Hufflepuff's Beater's are getting upset – ouch, that looked rather painful –"  Finnigan suddenly stood up.  "And Patil's gone into a dive – why isn't Lockhart moving?"  For Lockhart was still smiling at his 'adoring' fans, completely oblivious to the fact that Patil was about to get the Snitch.  "Patil's hand is outstretched – oh, yeah, Potter scored again – and he's got it!  Gryffindor wins!"

~

People were still discussing the game that night in the common room.

"Can you believe Lockhart didn't even bother trying?"

"Oh, I know.  Wasn't Diggory's expression priceless?"

"Ooo, my favorite part was when Lockhart was diving and Patil didn't even care!"

The person talking about it the most, of course, was none other than James Potter himself.

"Well, of_ course_ I knew Lockhart was feinting," he said loudly.  "It was incredibly obvious."

"But how could you_ tell_?" cooed a Pottergirl.

James shrugged, pretending to be modest.  "When you've played as long as I have, you can tell these things."

"I think it's_ awful _how Diggory was all over you," frowned a different Pottergirl, snapping her Drooble's gum.

"Oh, I could have outflown him easily," explained James disdainfully.  "I just thought I'd wear him out first."

"Oh, James," sighed the first Pottergirl.  "What would we_ ever_ do without you?"

James shrugged again.  "Lose, I guess."

Author's note:  Whew, I'm glad that chapter's over with.  Actually, I'm glad this whole section is over with – after this, the story will be mostly in 7th year.  The next chapter is really where the_ story_ part starts.  I just had to give some basic stuff about their beginning years to make the rest work.

[Reviews are greatly appreciated.]


	6. A Dangerous Pastime

Chapter Six: A Dangerous Pastime

' "I'm afraid I've been thinking."  "A dangerous pastime."  "I know." '

Lily Evans snatched the owl before it could wake her sister.  Pulling the letter off of its leg, she read it while munching her previously frozen waffles.

"Head girl," she breathed to herself, hardly daring to believe it.  But she read further, looking for the head boy, and ended up nearly giving herself a heart attack.  "They have _GOT to be kidding!"_

~

"Zymmer, Harvey!" called Professor McGonagall, and when Harvey was made a Ravenclaw, everyone looked at their plates expectantly.  

Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet.  "Before we eat-" A chorus of groans interrupted him.  "Ahem.  As I was saying, before we eat, I'd like to introduce our new Head Girl and Boy – Lily Evans and James Potter."  The hall broke into obligatory applause, but most were applauding the fact that the announcement was over and they could now eat.

"_Normally," said Lily snidely, reaching for her goblet, "the Head Boy was a prefect."_

"Not a rule, though," James retorted.  "It's not based on any factors except for who they think will do the best job – and that'd be me, apparently."

"Perhaps their drinks were poisoned," commented Lily airily, "to make them think that_ you could__ possibly handle that much responsibility."_

Esedora groaned and slid down a few inches in her seat.  "Here we go again," she murmured, exchanging wry glances with Remus.

"Are you implying that I can't handle it?" demanded James.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am.  In the six miserable years I've known you, you have never _once proven to me that you can handle anything beyond juvenile pranks."_

"And girls," smirked Sirius.  "He can handle girls.  That's his other extra-curricular activity."

"That explains a lot," said Lily dryly.  "Anything and everything you can think of to avoid doing something useful."

"You're just saying that 'cause you've never in your life had a proper boyfriend," snapped James.

"And glad of it, I might add.  Boys, as you are clearly demonstrating to me, are nothing but a waste of oxygen.  I'd really rather not have a boyfriend in the first place."

"Lucky for the guys," muttered James.

"Excuse me?"

"I can just imagine you smacking them in the face if they bother you.  Which would probably be a lot."

"Well, if they have faces like yours, a good slap might actually improve matters." 

"And _your _face-"  

Dumbledore stood up.  "Would the Head Boy and Girl assume their duties?"

~

Lily and James led the rest of the Gryffindors to the portrait.

"Well?" said Lily, turning expectantly to James.  "Give the password!"

"I thought you got the password!"

"Of course you did!  Let's have Lily do all the work, shall we?  We couldn't _possibly have bothered to exert ourselves enough to find out a simple word?"_

"You were just as capable of getting the password as I was!"

"Um…" said a fifth year.  "Lily?"  Lily turned her glare on the girl, who visibly shrunk a few inches.  "Er…Dumbledore gave me the password – it's Finite –"  At her words, the portrait swung open.

"About time," snapped the Fat Lady.

"Oh, shut up," said Lily.  She and James had to wait until everyone was situated.  Luckily, it wasn't their night to patrol.  "Listen," she said, sending an icy look in James' direction.  "I may have to work with you, Potter, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I don't have to either.  And I'm quite sure I won't."

Lily didn't lower herself to respond, but huffed off to her dormitory.

"Yup, she's sure got the hots for you, Prongs," said Sirius, who had been listening on the stairs along with Remus and Peter.

James groaned.  "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Insulting her is probably not the way to go about things," Remus pointed out.

"You don't say," replied James, his head in his hands.  "I could use a few ideas."

Sirius cackled.  "This is where I come in, Prongs, old boy."

"Oh, great."

"No, listen.  I have an idea!"

Remus eyed him skeptically.  "Is it a _good idea?"_

"Definitely," Sirius insisted.

"Ok," sighed James, "let's hear it."

"We need to prove to Lily that you're not awful, right?"

"Right."

"Now, what is the most terrifying thing on the grounds?"

"McGonagall," his friends answered promptly.

"Besides that," said Sirius, waving his hand impatiently.

"Um, the Forbidden Forest?" suggested Peter.

"Exactly.  Now, suppose we trick her into the forest.  She gets lost.  This is where you, Prongs, step in and escort her, ever so gallantly, back to the castle."

James eyed him dubiously.  "How would I explain what I was doing there?  And how would we get her in there in the first place?"

"Minor details," said Sirius in annoyance.

"Lily takes her Head Girl duties very seriously," began Lupin slowly.

"Really?  Thanks, Moony, for that brilliant insight," said James edgily.

"Hey, I'm on your side here.  What I'm saying is, if she thought a student was heading into the forest, she'd be sure to go after them and bring 'em back."

"And then," cried Sirius, leaping up, "when you 'rescue' her, you can just say you were going after the student too!  It'll be even better!  I'm so glad I thought of it!"

Remus coughed pointedly.

"Well, Moony helped too."

"How're we going to make her think that there's someone in the forest?" asked James.

Sirius shrugged.  "Easy enough.  I'll run in there; I can lose her easily enough.  Peter, you stay back here and get Lily to look out the window.  James, you'll be waiting in the forest.  Remus, you come along with James as back-up."

Remus shook his head.  "How do you come up with these things?"

"Natural talent," said Sirius, flinging out his arms and beaming.

"Natural insanity," muttered James.

"So, when do we pull this thing off?" inquired Remus.

"Not yet!" said James, looking stricken.  "We've got to wait a few weeks or so.  To, you know, get into the year and stuff."

Sirius made a noise that sounded rather like a hen clucking.  James responded by maturely chucking a quill at him.

"Your loss, Prongs," said Sirius.

~

"Ssshhh!" hissed Esedora, who was crouched at the door of their dormitory.  She motioned for Lily to creep closer.

"What?" asked Lily as quietly as she could.

"Asper's talking to herself again," said Esedora, giggling.  Lily suppressed a grin herself; Asper was well-known for holding conversations with herself.

"But I _can't_!" they heard her exclaim, along with the sound of her feet pacing around the dormitory.  "I don't _want_ to be like the rest of them.  I _swore I wouldn't ever like him.  I don't want to be the girl he dates for a week and then dumps to snog someone else.  But – but – oh, Merlin –"  Asper sank onto her bed as Lily and Esedora nonchalantly walked into the room._

"Oh, hi, Asper," said Lily, hiding a smirk.  "Fancy finding you here."

Asper looked at them with alarm.  "Were you guys right outside the door that whole time?"

"Oh, no," Esedora assured her, but the laughter dancing in her eyes, as well as Lily's, gave them away.  Asper groaned and buried her head in her arms.

"So," said Esedora, playfully bouncing onto Asper's bed and pulling away her arms, "you wanna give us a little more information?"

"Not particularly," said Asper, heat radiating from her face.

"Come on," said Lily, leaning against Asper, "we're dying of curiosity."

Asper rolled her eyes and folded her arms tightly.

"I guess it's up to us, then, to figure it out," said Esedora, meeting Lily's eyes impishly.

"Indeed," said Lily, sitting up primly.  "Let's see.  It'd have to be someone popular – a girl-a-week type of person –"

"And good-looking," interrupted Esedora,  "to explain the swooning."

"I did not swoon!" cried Asper indignantly.

Lily stood up.  Dramatically placing the back of her hand on her forehead, she sank onto Asper's bed and stage-whispered, "Oh, Merlin!"

"Perhaps she's in love with Merlin," suggested Esedora in between her fits of laughter.  Lily, however, suddenly sat up straight.

"I think I've got it," she said, more to herself than anything.  "But – yes, that would make sense all around – last year – she always –"

"_WHAT, Lily?" asked Esedora crossly._

"So, Asper," said Lily, casually leaning against the wall.  "How long have you liked Sirius?"

~

"I still can't believe it," said Esedora, pulling her long hair into a ponytail as they hurried down to breakfast.  

Lily glanced at her sideways.  "You're not – upset, or anything, are you?"

"What?  Me?  No!" replied Esedora.  "I got over him ages ago!"

"You guys," groaned Asper, "can we _please_ stop talking about this?"

"Sure," said Lily, pulling open the door to the Great Hall.  "Now, I wonder where we should sit?"

Esedora put a finger to her chin in mock thought, and before Asper could object, she was being dragged towards the Mauraders.

"But, Lily," said Asper in desperation, "I wouldn't want to force you to sit by James – I know how much you hate him – this really isn't necessary –"

"Hello, ladies," said Sirius, nodding gallantly to them.  "Lovely day, isn't it?"

The three of them promptly looked up at the ceiling, where great masses of gray clouds were gathering.

"Well," shrugged Sirius, "it seemed like the proper thing to say.  Won't you have a seat?"

Slightly suspicious of Sirius' newfound politeness, the girls cautiously pulled out their chairs.  

"Oh, no" groaned Lily.  "Someone, please switch with me or something –"

Looking at her quizzically, Remus volunteered to change seats with her.  "But why – oh," said Remus, noticing Snape directly in view across the Hall.  He cast a sympathetic look in Lily's direction.  

"Doesn't he _blink_?" she groaned, picking up her fork.  Remus hid a smile, then turned to talk to Esedora.

Lily glanced over at Asper.  Asper was observing Esedora and Remus with a very mischievous twinkle in her eye.

~

"Come on, Esedora," said Asper, running to keep up with Esedora's long strides.  "He's perfectly nice!  Give him a chance!"

"No," replied Esedora stiffly.  "I really don't want to get involved with anybody right now."

Asper sighed and looked at Lily for help.  Lily only shrugged.  

"Time will tell," said Lily in an undertone, and Asper brightened slightly.

~

Author's note:  I know it's short.  And it's been a long time.  And I like to flatter myself thinking anyone cares.  But nonetheless, sorry.

Virtual chocolate chip cookies to whoever picks out the Shakespeare-inspired line.  (Think Much Ado About Nothing.)


	7. Through the Darkness and the Shadows

_Through the Darkness and the Shadows_

'Through the mist, through the woods, through the darkness and the shadows.'

The day had dawned bright and clear.  There was no wind, but the air was bitterly cold, unusual for this time of year.  James Potter led his team onto the Quidditch pitch, looking around, testing the ground, and checking for wind.

"Honestly, James, it's only Hufflepuff," said Chaser Marian Rinckley.  "I mean – their Seeker is Lockhart, for heaven's sake."

"Yeah, Allie can take him," said Stewart Ackerly, a Beater.

"True," said James, flashing a quick smile at the fifth year, "but we can't let down our guard."  He began pacing around the team, gesturing wildly.  "I've seen better teams than us go down because they were overconfident.  We absolutely cannot let that happen to us.  Play as hard as you would against Slytherin – _always._  Allie –" he paused to survey the Seeker, who was not looking intimidated in the least.  "The only way Lockhart'll catch the Snitch is if it flies into his mouth.  So I don't think you need to be too concerned, but you've got to watch out.  The sun's bright, it'll be hard to see the Snitch, and we don't want this game to go on too long."

The Hufflepuffs were gathered on the other end of the pitch, occasionally casting nervous glances over their shoulders at the Gryffindors.

"Look," said Emma Dodds, the Gryffindor keeper.  "They're all scared of us."

"All right, team.  This game is ours, so let's go out and take it!"

The circle broke up, and the Gryffindors headed out to the center of the field.

~

"How can it be this cold?" demanded Esedora, wrapping her scarf more tightly around her.  "It's early November!"  The three girls were working their way up the steps of the Gryffindor box, trying to avoid looking in the direction of the sun.

"How are we going to watch without going blind?" wondered Asper, a hand over her eyes.  They grabbed seats near the front of the box and waited for the game to start.

~

"And the game begins!" cried Taylor Petrucci, the fifth year who was doing the commentary.  "Potter takes the Quaffle – no surprise – neat pass to Rinckley, Rinckley swoops around a Hufflepuff chaser – back to Potter – Potter dodges the Keeper – he scores!"

James did a few victory spins in the air as Lily rolled her eyes.

"Hufflepuff gains the Quaffle," continued Petrucci.  "Flies towards Dodds – she blocks it – the Quaffle is grabbed by Rinckley – ah, she drops it, nice hit by the Hufflepuff Beater – Potter swoops underneath it, gains possession –"  But James had to move up sharply to avoid being hit with a Bludger.

Twenty minutes into the game, he called a time out.  "Where are you guys?" he demanded of the Beaters.  "Those Bludgers have been blocking way too many scoring chances!"

"Sorry, cap'n," said Ackerly sourly, "but we can only be in so many places at once."

"Well, if this goes on, we could be in some real trouble.  They've got fairly decent Chasers, and if we can't score…"  He let his sentence trail off threateningly.  "Let's get back into the air."

"The time out is over," announced Petrucci, rather needlessly.  "Let's see if Potter can get his team into shape.  He gains possession – nice hit by Ackerly – drops it down to Rinckley – she scores!  The score is 70-60, with Gryffindor in the lead."  

Gryffindor's Beaters seemed to have been spurred on by James' not-so-peppy-talk.  Unfortunately, the Hufflepuff Beaters seemed to have the same idea.

"FOUL!" cried Gryffindor's stands, rising as one.  Emma Dodds had gotten smacked in the stomach with a Bludger, allowing the Hufflepuff Chasers to score.  It wasn't called, however, and Emma flew back up to the goals, looking slightly ill. 

"That's got to make the Gryffindors pretty angry," declared Petrucci.  It had indeed; James' face was set, his eyes narrowed.  He intercepted a pass between two Hufflepuff Chasers and went haring over to the goal.  He was blocked, however, by a ruby streak.

"What on earth," said Petrucci, leaning forward to get a better look.  "He was blocked by his own team!  No – wait – it was Allie Winger, going after the Snitch!  Has she got it?  Yes – yes, I believe she has!"  

Allie was circling the pitch, the Snitch clutched tightly in the fist she had raised.

"Gryffindor wins!" cried Petrucci, and the field was soon swarming with scarlet and gold clothed students.

~

Later that evening, Lily was hunched over her Transfiguration book, trying to ignore the chattering mass behind her.  It was rather difficult, as many voices in the throng were high-pitched and squealing things like, "Oh, Jamsie, you were wonderful!"

Lily rolled her eyes so high they seemed in danger of coming out of their sockets.

"I was worried, for a while there," James told the crowd, and they hushed, sensing that a good story was coming.  "I was most afraid we would lose right before I called that time out.  I think I can inspire the team really well, though, and they respect me enough to listen to what I say.  I got ticked off by that foul against Emma – the one that wasn't called – and maybe that energy sort of spurred on the rest of the team."

Lily couldn't take it anymore.  Slamming her book closed, she turned around, putting her knees against the back of her chair.   "So, it was all you, was it, Potter."

"Well," said James, smiling in exasperation at a blonde sixth year, "I_ am the captain."_

"You don't play all the positions, though, do you?"

"Well…no.  But if someone couldn't make a game, I could fill in any position."

"Really," said Lily, raising an eyebrow.  "Now that'd be a fun game to watch."

"Too bad my team needs me as Chaser," said James, sighing dramatically.  "Otherwise, we wouldn't score any points."

Lily began to sputter.  "You – you are the most – the most arrogant, conceited, haughty, egotistical, supercilious, bigheaded jerk –"

"Careful, Evans," said James, smirking at her.  "We wouldn't want to corrupt the innocent first years, would we."

Lily got up and stalked to her room, pausing to hiss, "I hate you," into James' ear.

~

"We've got no time to lose," said Sirius, shaking his head sadly.  "The longer we wait, the more she hates you."

Remus rolled his eyes.  "You could try and annoy her a little less."

"What?" James defended himself.  "I annoy her by living!"

"Why do you like her, anyway?" asked Remus.  "I mean, she obviously hates you."

"Yeah," said James morosely.  "But I can't help it.  She's just so – so – and it's so easy to fight with her – and the way her eyes flash –"

"They're just eyes, Prongs," said Peter.

"Have you ever seen brighter green?" demanded James.  "They just – sort of pull me in – and –"

"What is it about the green ones?" asked Sirius, sighing loudly.

~

"Lily," said Peter, standing at a window and frowning, "isn't the Forbidden Forest off-limits to students?"

"What?" she asked, quickly walking over to the window in time to see a figure disappear into the forest.  She groaned.  "This has been such a long day.  Maybe I'll find Potter to take care of it."

"Um," said Peter nervously, "he's…not…here…"

"What do you mean he's not here?  Where is he?"  

"I think he might have, er, gone to talk to a teacher or something."

"Fine," sighed Lily, grabbing her cloak.  "I'll get the kid myself."

She hurried out the front doors of the castle and headed towards the forest.  She didn't hesitate, but stepped into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest.

"Well, this is just marvelous," she grumbled.  "Just where I want to be."  She heard a howl, far-off, and clutched her wand a little more tightly.  "Where the heck is that kid?  Little idiot!"  She ventured farther into the forest.  She was slightly startled when shadows were no longer passing over her head, but it was only because no light at all was getting through.  "Lumos," she muttered.  

The sound of a branch cracking behind her made her whirl around.  Seeing nothing, she took a step backwards, tripped on a protruding root, and fell.  She shrieked, clutching her ankle, and looked around wildly.

"Lily?  Are you all right?"

"Does it bloody well _look _like I'm all right?" Lily demanded.  Suddenly realizing who she was seeing, she said, "What are you _doing here, Potter?"_

"Probably the same thing as you," he told her.  "Trying to find that kid that ran in here."  He tried to pull her to her feet, but Lily's ankle couldn't hold her weight.  "It's no good," he said, shaking his head.  "You can't walk anywhere.  We'll have to carry you."

"Don't you dare – we?"

"Moony here came along," said James as Remus stepped from behind a tree.

"Forest's getting pretty crowded of late," said Lily, rolling her eyes.  "But I will not be carried."

James also rolled his eyes.  "Fine," he said.  "You want to stay in here?"

Lily gave him the most disdainful look possible.  "Don't be an idiot.  Oh wait, I forgot.  It's you.  Anyway, if you and Remus could sort of act like crutches, I can get out of here and up to Madam Pomfrey?"

The boys stared at her blankly.  "What are crutches?" asked James with a bewildered expression.

"_Honestly!" cried Lily in exasperation.  "They're things Muggles use if they can't walk on one foot!"_

"Why wouldn't they be able to walk on a foot?"

"_Because they broke it!"_

"Can't a, um, what's the word –"

"Doctor," supplied Remus.

"Yeah.  Can't the doctors fix it?"

"Well, yes, but it takes time…  I can't believe I'm having this conversation!  In case you guys had somehow not noticed, which wouldn't surprise me, we're kind of in the _Forbidden__Forest__.  So could we move, please?"  Lily, by putting a hand on the shoulder of each boy, managed to hop her way out of the forest, albeit very, very slowly.  "What about the kid?" she asked.  _

"I think that's him," said Remus, pointing to a black-haired student heading into the castle half a mile ahead of them.

"I'm going to _kill_ him!" cried Lily.  "It's his fault I've got this broken ankle!"

Remus and James exchanged nervous glances.

"Come on," said Remus, helping her up the steps.  "We've got to get you to Madam Pomfrey."

~

Madam Pomfrey let out a shriek when she saw Lily Evans appear in the doorway.  Disheveled, with twigs in her hair, she was sporting an ankle that was rapidly turning purple.  

"She, um, fell," said James, helping her to hop over to a hospital bed.

"Don't you worry, my dear, we'll have you fixed up in a moment.  I thank you boys for bringing her in, but you had better get back to your common room now."

"Bye, Lily," they said, and hurried out the door.

Madam Pomfrey began making tsk-ing noises as she inspected the ankle.  "Does this hurt?" she wanted to know, turning Lily's ankle around.

"Yes," gasped Lily.  "Can't you just fix it?"

"We don't want any infection, now, do we," said Madam Pomfrey, spreading an ointment over the foot and ankle that both lessened the pain and turned her ankle back to her normal color.  Taking out her wand, she tapped it against the ankle and muttered a few words Lily couldn't make out.  "There," she said, and Lily saw her ankle spring back to a normal position.  Testing her weight gingerly, she too went back to the common room.

~

"That didn't really go as well as I'd hoped," said James morosely.

"She wasn't supposed to break her ankle!" said Sirius, trying to defend his plan.

"Yeah, well, you go ahead and tell her that.  Thanks a lot, Padfoot.  Now she probably hates me even more."

"Why should she?" pointed out Remus.  "She doesn't know it was just Sirius running into the forest."

"Good thing, too," said Sirius nervously. 

Remus continued, "She doesn't know that it was a just a plot."

"She does now," said Lily in an ominous tone, standing over them.

Author's note:  Oooh, cliffhangers are such fun.  Another short chapter, but the next one is coming soon.  Hopefully.


	8. Barely Even Friends

_Barely Even Friends_

'…barely even friends, then somebody bends, unexpectedly…'

"Um, Lily," said James.  "Didn't, er, see you there."

"Clearly," said Lily in a deadly quiet voice.  "I don't suppose any of you would care to tell me what's going on?"

The Mauraders looked at each other.  "It was Sirius' idea!" squeaked Peter.

"I guessed as much.  So, Sirius Black," she said, rounding on him and giving him her all-time best glare, "what the bloody hell is the big idea?"

"Er," said Sirius articulately.  "It's just, we, um –"

"You do realize I broke my ankle chasing in after you?"

"You did?  I mean, how do you know it was me?"

Lily rolled her eyes.  "It doesn't take a genius."

"Clearly," said James in an undertone.

"You, Potter, are hardly in a position to be rude," snapped Lily.  "You knew perfectly well that there was no reason to be in there; so why were you?"

"Um," said James in a squeaky sort of voice, "That way I could, um, kinda sorta rescue you when you got lost –"

"WHAT?" shrieked Lily.  "Oh, I get it.  When poor little helpless Lily gets lost, you can step in and be the knight in shining armor, can you?"

"Er, I hadn't thought of it that way, exactly –"

"I don't think you thought at all.  You had bloody well get that idea out of your head – I am no one's Snow White.  And you do know, Potter," said Lily, her arms crossed and a menacing expression on her face, "that this means war."

After fixing them all with a final lethal glare, Lily strode up to her room.

The boys who remained didn't say a word for a full twenty seconds.

"Who's Snow White?" asked Sirius finally.

"Fairy tale character," said Remus, looking rather shaken.  "Eats a poisoned apple and falls into a deathlike sleep.  Dwarves think she's dead.  Prince comes, kisses her, she comes back to life, they live happily ever after."

There was a pause while the other Mauraders digested this information.

"Who poisoned her?" asked Sirius.

"Her stepmother."

"Why would her stepmother do that?"

"Snow White was prettier than her."

"How'd she know?"

"The mirror told her."

"But I thought this was a Muggle fairy tale!"

"It is, but there's magic in Muggle fairy tales."

"What dwarves?" Peter wanted to know.  

"The ones she lived with."

"In _sin_?"

"No, she just cleaned for them and baked pies and stuff."

"Some life."

"How'd the Prince know to come?" asked James.

"'Cause he's Prince Charming and he knows these things," said Remus, beginning to get exasperated.

"Why would he want to kiss a dead person?" James inquired.

"I don't know!" cried Remus.  "I only know the story 'cause my mum kept a few Muggle storybooks around!  Lily doesn't want to be 'rescued' by a Prince Charming, that's all you really need to  know."

"Well, why not?" James asked.

Remus put his head in his hands.  "Because it's old-fashioned.  She doesn't need a guy to save her."

"Oh," said the others, comprehension slowly dawning.

Silence reigned again, until Peter requested to know what happened to the evil stepmother.

~

The next morning, James stretched and sat up without opening his eyes.  Unfortunately, this caused his to crack his head on the top of his bed.  Because of this knock to the head, he thought the way his room looked was due to concussion-induced delirium.

Judging by Sirius' reaction, however, he was not imagining things.

"What the bloody hell happened to this place?" demanded Sirius.  James didn't answer; he was too busy staring in bewilderment at the life-size portraits beaming at him from every wall.  

'The James Potter Shrine," read a banner draped across their doorway.  'Dedicated to he who thinks himself the best.'

"Well," said Remus, who had woken up by this time and was trying hard not to laugh, "she did say it was war."

James groaned and pulled his covers back over his head.  

~

"Sleep well, Potter?" Lily asked innocently that morning at breakfast.

"Quite well, thank you," he said, also feigning politeness.

Lily smiled cheekily and turned to her plate, only to discover that the food on it had been transformed into pebbles.  She raised an eyebrow at James, who was busily looking anywhere but at her.  She took his lapse of attention to snatch his plate, replacing it with her own.

"Hey!" cried James when he dared to look down.

"Problem, Potter?" asked Lily pleasantly.

"No," he growled, reaching for the pumpkin juice.

~

"The problem with Lily," Sirius was trying to explain, "is that she's sneakier.  I have it on good authority that she is just as capable of playing a good prank – even large scale – without people knowing.  You, on the other hand, are much more obvious."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"Not really.  I was just pointing out that she can keep up her good reputation _and pull off a good trick.  She's sly and she never, ever gets caught."_

"Maybe she just doesn't do anything," grumbled James.  

"Nah.  That whole shrine business proves she's got years of experience.  You, Prongs, just may have met your match."

"While you have yet to meet yours," retorted James.

"Nothing wrong with playing the field," said Sirius, reclining, and James' requests to know just what a field had to do with anything were met with a contemplative silence.

~

"Honestly," murmured Lily, passing two Gryffindor third years with her friends, "why don't they just get on with it?"

Asper gave her a confused look.  "What do you mean?" she asked, when they were out of earshot.

"I've seen them around a lot," Lily explained.  "It's horribly obvious they like each other, but they can't seem to bring themselves to admit it.  They'd rather go on ignoring each other.

Asper and Esedora exchanged glances.  

"Gee," muttered Esedora, "can't think who that might remind me of."

~

"Pass to Potter," said Petrucci, who was disregarded by most of the students.  "He dodges Ravenclaw's Keeper – shoots – ah, he misses.  Ravenclaw takes possession – Bones is speeding towards the goalposts – ouch, that looks like it hurt."  Amelia Bones shook her head and began flying again, looking dazed; she had been rammed into the side of the stands.  

The game continued, with more and more fouls.  Emma Dodds was beginning to look nervous as the game went on; Ravenclaw had excellent Chasers.  

"And Potter is fouled by Ravenclaw, he takes the penalty – he scores – the score is 110-90, with Gryffindor in the lead."  Petrucci paused, looking intently at the other end of the field, where the two Seekers were locked in a race.  "Seekers have spotted the Snitch – they're neck and neck –"  

The two Seekers were haring around the field, occasionally dodging a Bludger, until Ravenclaw's Seeker began flying higher, more slowly, with his fist high in the air.

"Ravenclaw has got the Snitch!" declared Petrucci.  "The game is over – Gryffindors with one hundred and ten points, and Ravenclaw with two hundred and forty."

 A shocked silence settled over the stands filled with scarlet and gold.  They weren't sure what to make of losing.  Slowly but surely, as the Ravenclaws realized what happened, the cheering grew louder and louder until several students covered their ears.

~

"We lost," muttered James that night, sitting with his friends in the common room.  "I can't believe we lost."

"It'll work out," said Sirius bracingly.  "You've still got a shot at the Cup."

"We haven't lost since I became captain!" said James.  "This isn't the way it's supposed to work!"

"Sorry, Prongs, but there's not much to be done at this point," added Remus.

"We are not going to lose again," said James in a determined voice.  "It is just not going to happen."

~

"So the invincible Gryffindors finally lose," said a jeering voice.  "Tell me, Potter, how does it feel to be the captain of defeat?"  
"Shove off, Malfoy," said James, lacking the energy for a more spirited reply; he had been up til morning, working out a new strategy for the team.

"Ah, poor baby Potter, all tired from losing," added a new voice; Sirius muttered various things that were luckily indistinguishable to Snape.

"We wouldn't want to keep you from breakfast," said Malfoy smoothly.  "After all, you'll need to have plenty of energy for when we beat you."

"We don't play you for two more weeks!" cried James.

"All the better," said Malfoy haughtily.  He turned his back and went towards the Slytherin table.

Snape, however, leveled eyes with James for a moment, the way dogs do before they attack.  "I'd hate to be you, Potter," he said softly, then left in a swish of oily hair.

James released his fists, which he had unconsciously clenched, and pulled out his chair for breakfast.

~

Asper rubbed her eyes, staring hard at the Hufflepuff table.  "Is that – is that _Lockhart?"_

Esedora turned and gaped.  "It is."

"What the heck did he do to himself?" said Lily.

"Must not be as dumb as he seems," said Asper.  

"Guess not," said Esedora, still gawking.  "He had to learn all those self-improvement spells."

Lily shook her head.  "Honestly, what is he trying to prove?"

For Lockhart's once-dingy hair was gleaming, his bland eyes suddenly bright blue.  The smile he was flashing around was much better received that usual, as it was now white and dazzling.

"Y'know," said Esedora contemplatively, "this is just going to make him more of a jerk than ever."

"Oh, of course," said Lily.  "No question about that.  People can take him on looks now, so he's got something to survive on."

"Pretty stupid, aren't they," observed Asper, referring to the girls now fawning over the artificial creature.

"No stupider than Pottergirls," said Lily defiantly.

Esedora rolled her eyes.  "Are you still on about that?"

"Well," said Lily, cracking an evil grin, "not at the moment.  They don't seem to be hanging on his every word as usual…"  She nodded towards the other end of the table, where James was blissfully unaware that his hair was light blond and sticking straight up.  "The look doesn't really suit him, does it," said Lily, now beginning to cackle in a most frightening manner.

The girls watched as Sirius held up a plate in front of James.  As he stared in horror at his reflection, Lily had to duck under the table to keep from laughing out loud.  When she sat back up, she discovered that he was right behind her.

"_What did you DO_?" he demanded.

"Just a little improvement project, Potter," said Lily, staring up at him with innocent eyes.

"You'd better watch out, Evans," he said, his own eyes narrowed.

"Always."

Author's Note:  Wow.  Am I updating fast or what?

And fear not, the L/J saga begins in the very next chapter!


	9. We Only Live to Serve

_We Only Live to Serve_

'Tie your napkin 'round your chin, cherie, and we provide the rest.  Soup du Jour!  Hot hors d'oeuvres!  Why, we only live to serve!'

The next morning, Lily and Asper awoke to find Morena snoring and Esedora already gone.

"I guess she went down to breakfast," said Lily, shrugging.

"She could have waited, though," grumbled Asper.

When they got down to the Great Hall, they did indeed find Esedora.  But she was not alone.  Lily and Asper raised their eyebrows at each other.

"Well, well, well," whispered Asper.  "Isn't this interesting."

"Perhaps you weren't so off base after all," giggled Lily.  "Didn't I say to give it time?"

"Oh, hi," said Esedora, looking up self-consciously.  "Remus and I had, uh, Potions homework to go over."

Lily smiled and took the seat next to Esedora.  "Did you get it figured out?"  Esedora nodded, turning a slight shade of pink.  "Come on, Asper," said Lily, "I, um, left something in our dormitory."

"Oh, Lily –"

"Come _on_."

~

"What, Evans, if I may ask, is the big idea?" sputtered James, pushing wet hair out of his eyes.

"Old Muggle trick," said Lily smugly.  "Knew you'd fall for it."

Sirius was studying the top of the door.  "Brilliant," he said to himself.  "If it's perched at just the right angle – and then the door is opened – brilliant!"

"Glad you approve, Padfoot," growled James, "but in case you hadn't noticed, _I am all wet!"_

"Fancy that," said Sirius, with an air of cool unconcern.

Lily rolled her eyes, whipped out her wand, and muttered a quick spell to remove the water.  "Honestly," they heard her muttering as she headed back towards the common room, "they're like children."

~

Remus was smiling slightly as he pretended to study for Charms. 

"What's so funny, Moony?"  Remus shook his head, but Sirius persisted.  "See that third year over there?" asked Remus, and Sirius looked over at the boy by the fire.

"What's he looking at?" asked Sirius, perplexed.

"Follow his gaze," Remus told him.  A look of comprehension passed over Sirius' face.  "He's been glancing over at her all afternoon," said Remus, now grinning.  "Either that or she'll look over her shoulder at him."

As they watched, the two third years happened to look at each other at the same time.  They promptly blushed and turned back to their friends with slightly idiotic looks on their faces.

"Ahh," said Sirius, clearly enjoying the drama.  "What odd romantic habits third years have."

"Whereas your habits were always to swoop the girl off to a broom cupboard somewhere."

"Had to stop using that broom cupboard on the second floor, though, after McGonagall opened it looking from some Mrs. Skowers All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover," said Sirius, wincing at the memory.  "She wasn't terribly pleased."

"I can imagine," said Remus, looking amused.

~

That night, Esedora was still studiously avoiding their eyes as they all worked on their homework.

"Owww," said Asper, rubbing her temples.  "My brain hurts."

"I can just see all the teachers gathering together and plotting how to make our lives miserable," said Lily, hunched over a Muggle Studies essay.

"They're pretty good at it, aren't they," muttered Esedora.

"What's that you're working on, Esedora?" asked Asper suddenly.

Esedora glanced up.  "Potions, why?"

"Really?  But I thought you got that all figured out this morning!"

"Asper," said Lily, trying to conceal her laughter and sound disapproving at the same time, "leave the poor girl alone."

"Well, we figured out most of it," Esedora defended herself.  "I just, er, have a little more work to do on it."

"Sure," said Asper, giving her an exaggerated wink.  "Y'know, I can remember when you were all moony over Sirius."

"Not that you're one to talk," Lily pointed out with a smug smile.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," said Asper airily, returning to her homework.

"Oh, I'm sure too," said Esedora, exchanging glances with Lily.

"Shhh!" instructed Asper.  "I'm trying to work here!"  The two girls rolled their eyes and bent over their parchment once again.  As the clock beat out the times, the common room slowly emptied out.  

"I'm going up to bed," said Asper, stretching and rubbing her eyes.  "I simply can't hold any more information."

"I'll come with you," Esedora said as she stood up.  "Coming, Lily?"

"No," said Lily distractedly, "I've still got a lot of work to do."

"Right," said Asper with a sigh.  "I still don't understand why you're taking so many courses."

"I told you, I –"  

"Yeah, yeah, I know.  You've got to get top marks on the NEWTs.  But honestly, Lily, why are you taking Muggle Studies?  You're Muggle-born, for Merlin's sake!"

"Oh, but it's fascinating to study them from the wizard's point of view!" said Lily, managing to sound earnest even at midnight.

Asper shook her head.  "Hopeless," she muttered to Esedora.  "Come on, let's go to bed."

"Bye," said Lily distractedly.  "I'll be up later."

But the clock sang out two chimes, and Lily was still up.  She heard a rustle by the boys' dormitory and looked up, adrenaline pumping from lack of sleep.

"Who's there?"

"It's just me, Evans," said James, clearly irritated.

"What're you doing up, Potter?"

"We-ell," said James, drawing the word out, "it's just the strangest thing, really."

"Oh?" said Lily, raising an eyebrow.

"Why, yes.  You see, every time I roll over, my bed sheets begin to sing."

"They sing, Potter?"

"Indeed they do, Evans.  I believe the song goes something like this."  He began humming a slightly off-key version of 'Someday My Prince Will Come.'  "Now, you wouldn't have any idea how that might have happened, do you, Evans?" he continued, his tone dangerously polite.

"I can't imagine," said Lily, coolly meeting his gaze.

"Forget it," said James, dropping into a chair.  "I'm clearly not going to get anywhere."

Lily smiled in a self-satisfied manner.

"What're you working on, anyway?" James wanted to know.

"Muggle Studies essay," she said, handing him a course outline while continuing to write.  James took the paper and read in annoyance.

Muggle Studies Course Outline

I.  Daily Lives

            a)  Common Muggle Expressions

            b)  Clothing

II  Transportation

a) The 'Tube'

b) Cars and how they work

c) The purpose of 'bicycles'

III  Muggle Inventions

a) Electricity

b) Items used in the kitchen

c) Computers: Are they really necessary?

d) The 'Internet' and what it's used for

e)   Television

IV  History

a) Ancient History from a Muggle's perspective

b) Witch persecution

c) How wizards influenced history

V   Muggle Childhoods

            a)   Early Schooling

            b)   Dodgeball: A Lesson in Cruelty

            c)   Exposure to Society

VI  Games and Sports

a) Football

b) Tennis

c) Basketball

d) Cricket

e) American Football

f) Racquetball:  What's the Point?

VII  American Muggles

a) Differences in Language

b) An Indulgent Culture

c) Literature 

VII  Why It's Important To Understand Muggles

a) Many Wizards or Witches Work Closely With Muggles

b) Blending In

c)   A Healthy Appreciation

"Er, Lily," he said, "aren't you Muggle born?"

"Yes," said Lily, pushing her red hair out of her eyes.  "So?"

"Then wouldn't you know this stuff?"

Lily rolled her eyes and ignored him.

James watched her in silence for a few minutes before he spoke.  "What's your problem, Evans?"

Lily's quill paused, and the absence of the scratching magnified the silence.  "Excuse me?"

"Look," said James.  "I have tried and tried and tried to be nice to you.  But can't you ever have a normal conversation?"

"Not right now," said Lily, resuming her writing.

"Your stomach rumbled."

"It did not."

"See!" cried James.  "You can't even agree with me about the simplest thing!"  
"Fine," groaned Lily.  "I'm just hungry."

"I can fix that," said James triumphantly.

"What, do you hoard food in your dormitory?"

"No," said James, pulling Lily to her feet, "but I do know how to get into the kitchens."

"We'll get caught," said Lily, who looked nonetheless delighted at the prospect of this sort of adventure.

James smiled.  "Wait right here," he said mysteriously.  He returned moments later from his dormitory, holding a bundle of silvery material in his arms.  "You've got to _promise not to tell anyone about this."_

"Is that an _Invisiblity Cloak_?" gasped Lily.

"_Promise!"  
"I promise," said Lily quickly, and reached out for the cloak.  "Wow," she said, and James  smiled._

"Come on," he said, and draped the cloak over them.

"Good thing it's big," said Lily as they turned a corner on the fifth floor, "we keep crashing into each other as it is."

James, who didn't particularly mind that particular aspect of the journey, merely admonished her to be quiet.  "You don't want to get caught, do you?"

He stopped in front of a large painting of a silver fruit bowl.  "Tickle the pear."

Lily stared at him as if he had gone completely mad.  "What?"

"Just do it.  Trust me."

Still eyeing him suspiciously and feeling stupid, Lily tickled the pear.  The pear began to giggle and squirm, and suddenly turned into a large green doorknob.  "Oh," she said.  

"Master James Potter!" squealed a small, wrinkled elf, and the pale green blur smacked into his knees.

"Hello, Piper," he said, laughing slightly.  

"But who's this?" asked Piper, turning her large eyes on Lily.

"I'm Lily Evans," said Lily, crouching down to Piper's eye level.  

"Oh," said Piper, nodding so hard that her ears flapped.  "Yes, we is often hearing of you."

"Er," said James, turning rather pink about the ears, "you couldn't get us a bit of food, could you?"

"Of course, Master Potter," said Piper.  "Piper only lives to serve!"

Lily blanched, and no less than three house elves zoomed over to them with a plate of snacks.

"But what is two fine students like you doing up so late?" asked Piper, hanging on the end of the table where Lily and James were eating.  "House-elves isn't needing so much sleep, no sir, Piper hardly ever rests, but then we is working hard all day long and Piper doesn't have time to sleep."

Lily frowned.  "Don't you –" she began, but James kicked her under the table.  "What was that for?" she demanded.

"Don't try it," said James quietly.  "You can't change their minds, they like work, and if you start getting them all stirred up they'll kick you out.  Trust me, I've tried."

"You have?"

"Well, yeah," said James, shrugging.  "Doesn't seem right for them to work so hard without pay.  But that's what they like, work, and change isn't going to happen fast.  Even if it should."

Lily stared at him.

"What?" he asked around a mouthful of food.

"Nothing," she said, grabbing an apple.  "It's just – nice, that's all."

"See?" said James, looking triumphant.  "Even I have a nicer side.  You'll be surprised what you'll find out about people when you get to know them."

"Guess so," said Lily slowly.  "But what was it she said – 'We only live to serve?'  How did they get the idea that their lives are to serve humans?"

"Wish I knew," said James.  "But that's all they know now."

"Are they happy?"

James smiled sadly.  "They think they are."   They continued eating in relative silence, ignoring the concerned looks cast upon them by the busy house elves.

"Thanks for taking me here, Potter," said Lily, rubbing her eyes. 

The next morning, however, they awoke to the incessant prodding of many tiny fingers.  

"Lily Evans and James Potter must leave, sir!" said Piper, looking anxious.  "We isn't able to get breakfast ready on time!  It isn't going to be good!"

"Sorry," said Lily groggily, "we didn't mean to fall asleep."

They were pushed out the door and headed up to their dormitory, laughing slightly at the absurdity of the manner in which they were woken up.

"Well, well, well," said Sirius, meeting them at the portrait hole and smirking hugely.  "Where _have you two been?"_

"Honestly, Sirius," snapped Lily.  "Get your mind out of the gutter.  We had early morning patrol duty, that's all."

James was momentarily taken aback by how quickly she could lie, but came to his senses soon enough to nod blankly.

"Right," said Sirus with a roguish wink.  "_'Patrol duty'. I get it."_

"We did, Padfoot," said James, glaring at Sirius.

"Fine," said Sirius, throwing up his hands.  "But it's time for breakfast now."

"I'm going to walk with Asper and Esedora," said Lily.  "See you later."

Author's Note:  I have terribly erratic updating habits.  So I have no idea when the next chapter is coming.  At least we finally got to the L/J stuff.


	10. You Call This Bacon?

_You Call This Bacon?_

' "Bonjour!"  "Good day!"  "You call this bacon?" '

"C'mon, guys," said Lily, leading the way to a few empty seats at the breakfast table.  She looked around, suddenly realizing that she was alone.  "Er, Asper?  Esedora?"  She spotted their retreating backs and jogged back to catch up with them.  "Thanks," she said grumpily.

"Oh, sorry, Lily," said Asper, "we just wanted to eat over here."

"You _guys_," groaned Lily, but her complaints were unheard and she was dragged to a seat.  Sirius was staring at his plate with a disgruntled expression on his face.

"What?" asked James.

"This food…there's something wrong with it."

James shrugged.  "I guess the house-elves are tired or something," he said, catching Lily's eye.

Sirius prodded his toast.  "Look!  It's practically rock-hard!  The pumpkin juice is warm!   And," he continued, gathering steam and waving a limp strip of bacon, "Look at this thing!  I mean, you call this bacon?  It's like wet seaweed!  Why is the food all horrible?  The house-elves have all night!"  Receiving a disapproving glare from Lily, he hastily added, "not that I advocate the exploitation of house-elves, of course."

"Don't take it the wrong way," Remus muttered to Lily, "but you just can't separate Sirius from his food."

"You think I haven't learned that by now?" asked Lily, suppressing a grin.  "I've known him for seven years."

"Hogsmeade next weekend," commented Esedora to nobody in particular.

"Really?" said Asper in a tone of great surprise.  "Should we go?"

"I'm out of Fizzing Whizbees," said Sirius around a mouthful of the toast he'd apparently decided he was hungry enough to eat.

"I haven't been to Zonko's in ages," added James mournfully.

"Why don't we all go together?" suggested Esedora brightly.  "It'd be fun, you know, with a big group."

Sirius swallowed.  "Sounds good to me."

"Me too," said James, and Remus nodded in agreement.  

Lily sighed.  "Fine."  

Everyone turned to look at Peter.  "Next weekend…" he said slowly, clearly trying to remember.  "I think – oh, no – I've got Remedial Defense Against the Dark Arts," he finished dejectedly.

"Oh, that's too bad, Wormtail," said James.  "So – when should we meet next weekend?"

"How about one in the afternoon, down here in the Great Hall," said Asper.  "Spend the afternoon there."

"You're going without me?" cried Peter.  

"Well," said Sirius, looking uncomfortably at James, "We, uh, you see, it's not that – um, well, yes, we are."

"Don't take it the wrong way," said James quickly.  "It's just that we don't have to stay behind, so, well, why should we?  It's not like we'd be able to keep you company anyway."

Peter shrugged.  "Doesn't matter."  

Remus looked at him with concern.  "You sure?"

"Yeah," said Peter, with a half-hearted wave of his hand.  "Go ahead.  Have fun."

~

Sirius prodded Remus in the back.  "Look, it's your third years," he said with a grin.

"Since when are they mine?" muttered Remus.

Lily walked up beside them.  "I take it you've noticed them too?"

Sirius nodded.  "D'ya know their names?  I keep referring to them as the 'third years that obviously like each other but are too chicken to do anything about it'."

Lily smiled.  "I think the boy's name is Joshua," she informed them, "but I don't know about the girl."

"I think her name is Rose," supplied Remus.

"Joshua and Rose," said Lily thoughtfully.  "Hopefully by the time they graduate they'll have realized it."  Remus and Sirius began to snicker.  "What?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," said Sirius, and he and Remus turned towards the common room.  Lily shrugged and continued down the hall.

"Well, well, well," said a snide voice.  "If it isn't Miss Perfect Head Girl."

"Can I help you with something, Malfoy?" asked Lily through gritted teeth.

"I'm afraid not," said Malfoy, sighing and running a hand through his blond hair.  "I don't accept help from Mudbloods, anyway."

Lily tensed up.  "And why is that?" she asked in a deathly polite tone.

"Because, my dear Lily –"  

"It's Evans to you, Malfoy."

"But of course."

"And to answer my question?" she continued, giving him the iciest glare she could muster.

"You see, Evans," he said, leaning forward and whispering slyly, "_you're all trash_."

"I'm afraid we differ on that point," said Lily coolly.  "To my mind, trash is something one would do better off without.  And I'm sure most of wizardkind would agree that we'd all be better off without the Malfoy clan."

Malfoy stiffened the tiniest bit.  "Ah, but again Evans, you're wrong," he hissed.  "The day is coming when the name of Malfoy will be the most powerful, the most feared, the –"

"Most annoying," supplied James, stepping out from around a corner; he'd clearly heard the whole thing.  "As it stands, Malfoy, you have no redeeming qualities.  In fact, all you've really got is a superiority complex."

Looking rather disgruntled at his dramatic moment being interrupted so, he eyed James.  "There are those who think highly of such things."

"Well, they're not here," said James, sounding bored.

"Why don't you go find them, and we'd all be happier," added Lily.

Malfoy smiled coldly.  "You will see – you will see what happens when the powerful join."

"I don't see any powerful around here, do you, James?" asked Lily, looking around earnestly.

"Certainly not," said James.  

"You will see," Malfoy hissed, and swept away.  Lily and James looked at each other for a moment, remembered that they were enemies, and hurried down separate corridors.

~

The next morning, Lily awoke, dressed, and headed down the stairs of her dormitory into the common room.  Intent on the breakfast she knew was awaiting, she failed to notice the absence of the last three stairs.  Hearing the muffled banging and thumping, Esedora and Asper rushed down.

"Are you all right, Lily?" cried Esedora, nimbly leaping the gap.

"I think so," said Lily, inspecting her various appendages.  Everyone in the common room was watching the spectacle with interest.

Asper was staring at the staircase, or rather, lack thereof.  "What in Merlin's name…"

"Potter," shrugged Lily.  He had just come down the stairs with Sirius.

"Took a little tumble, did we?" asked Sirius good-naturedly.

"I think we ought to call her Tumbleweed," said James.  "Fits her better than Lily."  The people in the common room began chuckling, and Lily was still sitting in an awkward position on the ground.

"You look rather calm, considering the circumstances," said Asper, eyeing her.  "Why aren't you in the process of performing an Unforgivable on Potter?"

Lily, who had risen and was dusting herself off serenely, replied, "Just wait and see."  Esedora and Asper automatically took a step back.  "Don't worry," said Lily, grinning wickedly.  "It'll only affect Potter.  Come on, let's go to breakfast."  They followed her warily.

More people began to appear.  Having made it out of their beds, they seemed unable to summon the energy to get down to the Great Hall; it was, after all, a lazy Sunday morning.  The Mauraders, however, decided that waiting around would only result in less food left for them.

"Come on," said Sirius, taking a running leap out the portrait hole.  Peter made a rather awkward hop, and Remus jumped through while still managing to look relatively normal.  James backed up, preparing to make a flying hurdle in the most dramatic way possible. (There were, after all, quite a lot of people watching.)

"Come on, Prongs, we haven't got all day," called Sirius in a bored sort of voice.  James made to leap through the portrait hole.

_BAM._

An invisible wall had apparently sealed the doorway.  James crashed into it and sprawled on the floor, the common room ringing with laughter.  "Evans," he scowled.  He tried to step through normally.  No luck.  His foot met with an unseen barrier.  He pressed his hands to it.  There was simply no way to get out.

Looking extremely perplexed, Remus walked back through, and out again.  "I dunno, James," he said, shrugging.  "Guess it only affects you."

"So am I just locked in here?" cried James.

"Until Lily gets back – I'm afraid you are.  I have no idea what she used.  Some sort of charm."

James, glaring at a couple of twittering second years, sank onto a couch to wait.  About ten minutes later, Lily materialized in front of him.

"Problem, Potter?" she asked pleasantly.

"Yes, there bloody well is a problem!" he yelled, not caring who heard.  "What's the big idea, anyway?"

"Well, I don't know," said Lily innocently.  "What's the big idea of removing the bottom three stairs?"

James was unable to answer and just glowered.

"_Honestly_," sighed Lily, reversing the charm.  "Like children, I tell you."

~

Sirius Black, when provided with large quantities of sugar, was a scary thing indeed.  He was currently bouncing off the walls and introducing himself to everyone around him, not seeming to care whether he knew them already or not.

"Hi, I'm Sirius Black, nice to meet you, why, hello, Emma, how are you doing?  Hello, I'm Sirius, what's your name?  Nice to meet you, Esedora.  Fancy seeing you here, James.  Hi, I'm Sirius, what's your name?  Oh, that's nice, are you named after the flower?  I'm named after a star, you know.  Hello there, my name's Sirius, and you –"  He stopped short.  Everybody around him was silent.  What had happened?  He had only shaken the blond girl's hand.  

"Nice to meet you," she said sweetly.  "My name's Asper."  She dug around in her bag and found a mirror.  Sirius took it and observed with interest that his skin had turned blue.

"How did you do that?" he asked, not seeming to mind the blue-ness aspect of the ordeal.

"I modified the spell a little so it could be transferred from my hand," she told him, grinning at the fact that she had successfully pulled off a prank on The Sirius Black.

"Cool," he said, grinning back at her.  "Oh, don't bother fixing it," he said, seeing her pulling out her wand.  "It's one of those short-term things, isn't it?"  She nodded.  "Then I'll just go around like this.  Be a conversation piece."

~

"If you could handle things like that," declared Sirius, lounging on his bed and no longer blue, "you'd have no problem with Lily."

"Yeah, but her prank wasn't as big a deal," grumbled James.

"Wasn't as big a deal?" asked Sirius incredulously.  "I was blue!"

"Well, she embarrassed me in front of half of Gryffindor!"

"She didn't know you were going to try and jump through," said Sirius, rolling his eyes.  "Prongs, the sooner you stop caring so much what people think of you, the better."

"Oh, so is that your secret?" said James.  "Doesn't seem to help you much in the long range."

"Girls tend to get sick of me," shrugged Sirius.  "Can't imagine why."

"Perhaps you need someone, oh, I don't know, more like you?" suggested James, beginning to get bored with the subject.

"Right," agreed Sirius.  "Someone who…plays pranks!  Like Lily," he added devilishly, watching James' reaction.

"Someone NOT Lily," said James ferociously.

"You know," said Sirius thoughtfully, "Asper Willow…she just may be my kind of girl."

"You say that about every girl," muttered James, still disgruntled by the mention of Lily.

Sirius, however, seemed to have lost the thread of conversation.

A/N:  I can't help but notice that there are a bunch of people who get author alerts from me but haven't reviewed.  I hate to beg for reviews, but if you read this, I'd love to know.  I'd be a lot more motivated…


	11. It's A Quiet Village

_It's a __Quiet__Village___

"Little town, it's a quiet village.  Every day like the one before."

"Ready, guys?" Lily asked, tucking in the end of her scarf.

"Mmmf," said Asper, who was struggling with her boot.

"Hurry up," said Esedora, tying back her long hair.

"You're not looking forward to this or anything, are you?" teased Lily. 

"Ready!" said Asper triumphantly.  "Let's get down there."

They met up with the three Mauraders in the Great Hall.  As seventh years, they weren't bound to the same regulations as the younger students regarding Hogsmeade.  They headed to the village at their own leisurely pace, talking about nothing in particular.

"Where to first?" asked Lily absentmindedly.

"Let's get something to eat," suggested Sirius.  "I don't think any of us have had lunch.  Three Broomsticks?"  The others agreed.

"Rosmerta, m'dear!" cried Sirius as they entered.  "I don't suppose you could scrounge up a table for my friends and me?"

Rosmerta giggled and gestured to a table in the corner; Lily shuddered.  James looked at her in alarm.  "Could you get us a different one, please?  That one, ah, you see… I don't care much for being in corners."

"Of course," said Rosmerta curiously, and brought them to a booth on the side of the room.  Asper, Esedora, and Lily slid in on one side and the boys took the other.

James leaned over the table to talk to Lily.  "Is that where you were when Dumbledore –"

"Yes," she mumbled, and looked away.

Soon they were delightfully stuffed.  "Um, guys," said Asper, looking sheepish, "I kinda want to go to Zonko's…"

Sirius beamed.  "Me too.  Anyone else?"

James shook his head.  "Got a package from my cousin this morning."

"I was hoping to go to Honeydukes," said Remus.

"I'll go with you," said Esedora.  "I'm dying for a sugar quill."

By the next minute, Lily and James had been abandoned at their table.  Lily sighed.  "Marvelous."

"Oh, come on, being with me can't be that bad," he said, and gave her such a sad puppy-dog look that she couldn't help but smile.

"I'll survive.  Probably."

"Think of it as a Head Girl duty."

"How d'ya figure that?"

"Well," he shrugged, "surely this'll count somehow as discussing our responsibilities or something."

"This is about as responsible as you get," she retorted, but flashed a quick grin.

"So," said James.  "Now what?"

"Got any place you want to go?"

"Not really."

"Me neither.  Let's just wander around.  Head towards the Shrieking Shack.  Some of the shops have their Christmas displays up already."

"Bit early, isn't it?"

"Not really," said Lily.  "The Muggles will have had them up for about a month already."

James laughed, earning him a quizzical glance.  "Wait – you were serious?"

"Very," sighed Lily.  "Gets a bit pathetic after a while."

"I can imagine," said James, and they stepped outside.  A light flurry was beginning, giving the whole scene a cheerful innocence.  Lily wrapped her coat around her more tightly.

"Cold?" asked James, attempting to move closer.

"No," she said stiffly.  "I'm fine."

James rolled his eyes.  "Snow's starting to come down a bit harder, isn't it."

"Yeah," she agreed, relaxing a bit.  "Oh – let's go in here!  I love the owls!"

They stepped inside the post office, grateful to get out of the wind.  Lily fished an envelope out of her coat pocket.  "Letter to my sister," she explained.  "I figure I should at least_ try_ to be friendly."  When Lily had selected an owl and posted her letter, the two set off again.  They wandered toward the end of the lane, stopping to look in the windows of various stores, but the wind made conversation difficult.

"The storm's getting worse!" called James.

"What?" yelled Lily.

"I said _the storm's getting worse!_"

"You need a purse?"

"No," bellowed James in exasperation.  "I said –"

"I know," shouted Lily, grinning.  "We need to turn back."

Suddenly, the other end of the road seemed three times as far away.  They struggled through the growing piles of snow and ever-increasing wind.  By the time they got to The Three Broomsticks, it was clear that getting all the way back to the castle was not an option right now.  Rosmerta opened a side door a crack and yelled that they could come in.  When they did so, shaking out their hats and stomping their boots by the door, they discovered that many other people had taken refuge in the restaurant.

"Where're our friends?" James asked nervously.

Lily bit her lip.  "I hope they're all right."

"_Sonorus_," said Rosmerta, directing her wand towards her throat.  "All right," she said, her voice booming, causing everyone to look up and listen.  "M' boss says y'all can stay here until the roads are good enough to leave, and you c'n all have a Butterbeer on the house."  Cheers filled the room.

"It seems odd, somehow," Lily said, "that all these witches and wizards get stuck somewhere 'cause of _snow_."

"Look," James pointed out.  "Most of 'em are families, so they can't Apparate 'cause of their kids.  And we, of course, can't Apparate into Hogwarts.  So there's really not much to be done."

Lily sighed.  "Shall we go get that Butterbeer?"

"Let's wait," said James, eyeing the massive crowd pressing in on the counter.  They caught a glimpse of a rather stressed looking Rosmerta.  "At least until the crowd thins a little."

Time had passed more quickly than they thought.  A glance at James' watch revealed that it was eight o'clock already, and several of the families were attempting to quiet their children enough to get them to sleep.  Lily was sure she would never be able to sleep, it was so crowded.

"C'mon," said James, grabbing her hand and leading her through the hordes of people.  "Let's find some breathing room."

They got to a clear area behind a booth, and Lily promptly distangled her hand from his.  "Good call," she said.  "I don't feel so claustrophobic back here."

James looked at her curiously.  "What's claustro – claus – claustrowhat?"

"Muggle thing, I guess," she informed him.  "It's a fear of small spaces."

"Why do Muggles name their fears with such long names?"

Lily shrugged.

"Besides," said James, looking around, "this isn't a small space."

"Yes, but –" began Lily, but gave up explaining as James looked confused enough already.  She leaned her head against the back of the booth as Rosmerta came around with squashy purple pillows and blankets.  The corners of James' mouth twitched.

"You stay over there," said Lily crossly.

"Fine, fine," said James, throwing up his hands in mock surrender.  "I'll go grab us our Butterbeers." 

"Thanks," came her muffled voice from under two blankets.  James paused and surveyed the shivering lump of purple in front of him, then set off.

Lily lowered the blankets she was clutching enough to look around.  She didn't see their friends anywhere.

James returned, Butterbeer in each hand, to find Lily biting her lip.  "I bet the other stores have let people stay, like here," he said.

She looked up, startled that he knew what she was thinking about, and reached for the Butterbeer he held out.  "Yeah, probably," she said, relaxing a little as she took a sip.

He settled down beside her, hands wrapped around his mug.  "I think this is the best Butterbeer I've ever drunk in my entire life," he declared.

"And that's saying something," said Lily with a smile.  She paused partway through taking another drink.  "You haven't… _done_ anything to this, have you?"

"Honestly, Lily," said James, "I can't imagine why you'd suspect innocent little me of such a thing.  But no, I didn't.  Doesn't exactly seem the time."

"Precisely," said Lily, and swallowed.

"Besides," continued James, "you've proven yourself to be a pretty good prankster yourself."

Lily grinned evilly.  "Oh, you don't even know the half of it, Potter."

"That's what Sirius said," he told her, looking at her closely.  "Care to elaborate?"

"Well," said Lily, setting down her now-empty mug and stretching, "d'ya remember when, back in fourth year, all the silverware at the Head Table got switched around, and Flitwick wasn't paying attention and tried to spear a piece of steak with his spoon?  And McGonagall was talking to Dumbledore and didn't notice that she was trying to scoop up a grape with her knife?"

"Yeah," said James cautiously, remembering the guffaws that had broken out as the students watched.

"That was me."

James grinned.  "They never did figure that one out, did they."

"Nope," said Lily in a very self-satisfied tone.  "The trick to pranks, Potter, is to be sneaky.  That's half the fun, when people can't figure out how it happened."

"Huh," said James.  "Anything else you care to divulge?"

"A witch never reveals her secrets," said Lily, grinning slyly.

"Could I ask you something else then?"

"I guess so," said Lily suspiciously.

"One night in second year –"

"Second year?" interrupted Lily.  "You honestly expect me to remember that far back?  And to one night?"

This clearly hadn't occurred to James.  "Um…you were wandering around.  Past hours.  And I was just wondering if you did that a lot, and, er, why."

An ashen look passed over Lily's face.  "Yeah," she said slowly, "I do wander.  Sometimes.  I'd had a nightmare, I guess.  And I can't go back to sleep."

"Oh," said James, unable to think of anything more helpful to say.

Lily shrugged it off.  "Any more nosy questions?" she asked half-jokingly.

"Actually," he began, and Lily groaned.  "Just the one," he assured her. 

"Fine," Lily said resignedly.  "What?"

"Well, it's about me –"

"Like everything else," she added.

"See, that's it.  Why have you always disliked me so much?  Other people haven't.  Slytherins have, of course, but I've always doubted whether they are, in fact, people.  So…I was just wondering."

"Sure you want an answer?" asked Lily, studying him.  James looked as though maybe he didn't, after all, but nodded.  "See, I'm talking to you now.  Relatively without insults.  And that's because you're not trying to impress anyone.  I can't _stand_ that.  Like everyone has to think you're wonderful.  Basically, you're full of yourself," she said bluntly.

"I used to be worse," he said.

She looked at him and softened a bit.  "That's true.  Merlin, Potter, you were the hugest jerk."

He winced.  "I know.  But Evans, honestly, aren't I better this year?"

"I guess," she conceded.  "It's just hard for me to see.  People have to earn my respect, and if they've been awful for five or six years, a couple good months aren't going to change that."

"But it could be changed."

"Yes," she said slowly, "I suppose it could."

There was a very uncomfortable pause.

"Can I ask _you_ something?" asked Lily.

"Only fair," said James, relieved that the silence had been broken.

"During the Sorting.  What did the hat say to you?"

"You remember that?"

"Yeah," said Lily, "you looked terrified."

"I wasn't _terrified_," grumbled James.

"Whatever.  What'd the hat say?"

"That I was destined for great things," James said quietly.  "But terrible things.  Tragic things.  And somehow great."

"The Hat told me," began Lily slowly, "that I was destined for great and terrible things, too.  That I'd do well in Slytherin, but something held me back.  What'd it tell your friends?" she asked, suddenly hopeful that perhaps this was normal.

James shrugged.  "I don't know.  I've never asked.  What about your friends?"

"We've never talked about it," said Lily, studying her hands.  "I don't like thinking about it."

"Me neither," said James, barely audibly.

The room was quieting down.  Many children were settled off to sleep with their parents conversing in low, worried voices.

James felt something bump against his side.  "Wha –"  It was a little girl, who looked to be about two.  Tears were beginning to fill her large brown eyes.

"Are you lost?" asked Lily gently, having noticed her standing there.  The girl nodded, lower lip quivering.

"What's your name?" asked James in the same tone.

The child said in a tiny voice, "Ella."

"Well, Ella," continued James, "why don't you come with us, and I'm sure we can find your parents.  Okay?"

Ella nodded, and as James and Lily rose, raised her arms.  James looked mildly surprised, then scooped her up.  She settled against his shoulder, grabbed a fistful of his hair for security, and closed her eyes.

"What do we do?" asked James, looking a little panicked now that he was holding a sleeping, lost child.

"I'm sure her parents are looking for her," Lily pointed out.  "Let's go to the counter."

They worked their way through the masses of people and blankets, James holding onto Ella more tightly to keep her from falling.  They were halfway there when a woman with brown curls and glasses dashed up.  "Ella!" she cried, both waking her daughter up and earning her glares from some parents who had just gotten their children off to sleep.  "Thank you," whispered Ella's mother.  Ella looked around sleepily and tumbled into her mother's arms.  "Where did you find her?" she asked, arms wrapped protectively around her daughter, who was once again asleep.

"Over there," said Lily, pointing to the far booth.

"I thought she was asleep, and I dashed into the bathroom," said her mother distractedly.  "And when I came back she was gone…" She bit her lip.

"She's fine," said James reassuringly.  "She couldn't have gotten far."

"No," she said, "no, I suppose not.  Well, thank you.  Thank you so much.  I'd better get her back to bed now."

"No problem," said James uneasily.  "Night."

Lily found herself yawning as they made their way back to their spot.  "What time is it?" she asked.

"About ten," said James, glancing at his watch.

"Guess I'm just tired from the walk, then," she said sheepishly.

"Me too," said James as they arrived at their respective piles of blankets.

Lily took hers and edged against a wall.  "James?" she whispered.

"Yeah?" he responded, having drawn his blankets around him by the opposite wall.

"That was really sweet of you," she said sleepily, "with Ella and all."

James stared at her, finally coming to the conclusion that Butterbeer and extreme tiredness were not a good combination and, in fact, made one say things one normally would never dream of saying.  "Thanks," he said finally, but Lily was asleep.

Someone was screaming.  "Run!  I'll hold him off!  Lily, run!" 

The room spun wildly; green light was everywhere.  Laughter, high and cold, sending chills through her body.  Her child!  She had to protect him, had to save him.  She ran.  "It's ok," she said, breathless, "it's ok, Mommy's here."  Cradling him in her arms.  "Sh, it's ok, it's ok –"  The terror grew.  Voices swirled in her ears, crashes becoming louder – "No!" she screamed.  And everything was dark, but the screaming went on.

Lily woke and heard her own voice.

James had woken instantly, and leapt to her side.  "Sh, it's ok," he said, wrapping his arms around her in an attempt to quiet her.  "It was just a dream, Lily, you're awake now, it's all right.  It was just a dream.  You're okay.  You're safe."

Lily looked up at him, eyes wide.  "He killed you."

"Who killed me?" asked James, mystified. 

"I don't know," whispered Lily, shuddering.  "I never know.  And there's nothing I could do."

"You're shaking," murmured James, grabbing an extra blanket.  "It's all right now.  It was just a dream."

"It wasn't," said Lily, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Of course it was," said James soothingly.  "Try and go back to sleep."  He made to go back to his spot.

"Don't leave me," said Lily, grabbing onto his arm.

"I won't," he said quietly.  "I'll stay right here."

Lily relaxed her grip on his arm and leaned against his chest.  He could feel her breathing beginning to slow and grow steadier, but he didn't dare to move.  Instead, he propped a pillow behind his head and stared into the darkness.

Time passed.  He fell into an uneasy sleep, but was woken by a hand shaking his shoulder.  He blinked sleepily into the face of Dumbledore.

"Come with me," whispered Dumbledore.  "We're moving the students back to the castle."

"What time is it?" mumbled Lily, who had awoken.

"Three," said Dumbledore.  "I apologize for the hour, but we wanted to get everyone back safely as quickly as possible."

Suddenly alert, James asked, "Have you seen –"

"Yes," said Dumbledore, knowing what he was going to ask. "Your friends are safe.  They made it back to the castle before the storm began.  Let's get you back now."

They stumbled outside, where the storm of the night before had subsided into a few flakes.  They could see other teachers leaving various shops with students in tow.

"Minerva, have you got Auriga?  Good, good, it looks like everyone's accounted for," said Dumbledore.  He summoned a carriage, and the sleepy students made their way back to the castle.


	12. Magic Spells, A Prince in Disguise

Author's note: Something annoying happened with the little "" things (if that doesn't appear, well, it's no surprise), so it may be hard to tell where a new scene is happening. Sorry! I'm trying to fix it! And the spacing, too, is messed up. Very frustrating. I apologize.

_Magic Spells, a Prince in Disguise_

"Well, it's my favorite! Far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise!"

"Lily. Lily. _Lily!"_ cried Esedora.

Asper sleepily propped herself up on an elbow. "That approach'll never work," she told Esedora gravely. "Lily sleeps like the dead. You've gotta go like – this!" Cackling, Asper snatched Lily's pillow out from under her head and thumped her soundly with it.

Lily groaned. "C'mon, guys, I got back at 3 in the morning."

"Oh, we know," said Esedora with a slightly evil grin. "With Potter."

"And we're assuming you either have a very good story or an earful for us. So go on. We've got all morning," continued Asper with the air of someone for whom being patient was very difficult.

"…We do?"

"Yeah," shrugged Asper, "morning classes were canceled owing to some students' late-night adventures."

"What time is it?" Lily mumbled blearily.

"Nine," said Esedora, "so, really, we gave you plenty of time to sleep in."

Lily glared at her. "Sure, for Miss Early-Riser."

"Miss Oh-I-Just-LOVE-Mornings!" chimed in Asper, who certainly had no intention of telling Lily that she had slept just as late.

"They're so beautiful!" said Lily dreamily, twirling imaginary long brown hair.

"I'm glad I provide such entertainment," said Esedora huffily as her two friends broke into laughter. "Right then. You're awake. So?"

Asper promptly stopped laughing at looked at Lily expectantly, who was still giggling in a diminished sort of way.

"Where's Morena?" she asked absently.

"Who cares?" said Asper and Esedora together.

Lily rubbed her eyes. "What exactly are you after?"

"We just want to know what happened."

"Wait," said Lily suddenly, "what happened with you two?"

"Sirius and I spend most of our time in Zonko's," said Asper quickly, hoping to set an example of how questions were _supposed_ to be answered. "Then we got Butterbeers and drank them on the way back to the castle. What about you, Esedora?" Asper was grinning and plainly knew, but was asking for Lily's benefit.

Lily looked at her curiously. "What is it?"

"I had a good time, is all," said Esedora, turning pink. "We walked around. Looked at stuff." And she refused to say anything more.

"Well, we did sort of the same thing," said Lily grudgingly. "We were way by the end of the lane when we realized that it was storming pretty hard. Went back to the Three Broomsticks and got stuck there."

Asper raised an eyebrow. "Scandalous."

"Oh, shut up," said Lily, throwing the offending pillow at her. "You know I don't like him."

Esedora looked at her sideways. "You used to say you hated him."

"Well, maybe I've just grown up a bit," said Lily grumpily.

"Or maybe," Asper whispered loudly, "you're secretly, madly in love with him and don't even know it!" She threw herself across the bed dramatically, hands over her heart.

"That's ridiculous," said Lily with as much dignity as she could manage under the circumstances. "If you're in love with someone, you know it."

"Right," said Esedora, and flushed an even deeper pink.

"So," said Sirius. "So, so, so."

"So what?" asked James, his voice muffled by the pillow he had pulled over his head.

"Spent all night with the Lilster, huh?"

"The Lilster?" repeated James, attempting to laugh but failing miserably; he had a severe headache.

"Yeah. You know. Red hair, green eyes…"

"I know who you mean," snapped James, sitting up in bed.

"Did you score?" asked Sirius abruptly.

James shoved him as hard as he could across the room, where he hit his head on the solid wall. "Dammit, Potter," Sirius said angrily, rubbing his head. "What was that for?" But James pulled on his robes and stalked from the dormitory without another word.

The next Saturday found three bedraggled figures rushing across the lawn.

"Come _on_, you guys, we're going to be late!" cried Lily, running past the lake to the Quidditch pitch, her friends hurrying along behind her.

"What's the big rush?" asked Asper in some annoyance; Lily had not permitted her to finish her toast. ("Well, you were taking forever!")

Lily slowed down. "I just…want to be able to…see," she said.

Esedora and Asper shot bewildered glances at each other. "If you say so," muttered Esedora. They reached the stands and began to climb, Asper still somewhat out of breath.

"Perfect," said Esedora, settling on a bench. Asper gave a slight cough and pointed out three heads – one black, one brown, and one mousy - to Lily, then nodded at Esedora.

"Ah," said Lily, suppressing a grin. "Very perfect spots."

The match had already started, and they hurriedly tried to catch up with what was happening. Lily wrapped her cloak around her head to keep warm. Gryffindor was in the lead over Slytherin, 70-20. James was circling the pitch, searching for a glimmer of gold.

The girl a few seats ahead of Asper sighed. "Isn't he _wonderful_?" she said to her friend in a very audible whisper.

"He's a good player," said her friend, scrutinizing him as he flew. "But," she continued, dropping her voice, "Quidditch isn't the only thing he plays."

"Really? What?" breathed the girl, unaware that all the people around them were listening in.

Her friend smirked. "You know, he was out all night with that Lily Evans girl."  
"Oh, I head about that," agreed the girl, nodding sadly. "And I always thought of her as a pillar of moral fortitude."

Her friend stared. "A pillar of _what?"_

"Moral fortitude," muttered the girl, going red. "It's in those books my mum reads."

Her friend giggled. "Just saying, don't get attached. He'll use you."

Lily had been listening so hard to this conversation that she failed to realize that the score was now 80-50 - Slytherin was catching up. She felt her cheeks flame as she realized what everyone at Hogwarts must think. Then she caught sight of someone stirring on her other side.

"James is a decent guy," said Sirius, standing up and addressing himself to the girls, "and I've got the lump on my head to prove it." Everyone stared as he resumed his seat, rubbing his forehead and frowning.

"Thanks," Lily muttered to Sirius, who looked surprised to see her.

"And it's 80-60, Gryffindor in the lead," boomed the commentator, "but Slytherin seems to be getting into its stride. The Gryffindors had better get their act together soon." Everyone turned their attention back to the game. Wild cheers were heard from the Slytherin end as their Chaser scored. Sirius groaned.

Ten more nail-biting minutes later, Slytherin led by ten points.

"Oh, hurry up," moaned Asper, chewing a finger and staring at James, as if by the sheer force of her will she could make him spot the Snitch. They saw James whip his head over to the right. He darted upward, hand outstretched. The Slytherin Seeker was at the other end of the pitch – he would never make it –

"Yes!" cried the commentator. "And James Potter gets the Snitch and a win for Gryffindor! They are now in the lead for the house cup!"

"I hate Potions," growled Asper in frustration.

"It's not that bad," said Esedora absentmindedly as she paged through her notes.

Asper slammed her quill down in frustration. "Maybe not for you, Miss Perfect-Potion," she said indignantly. "But other people have better things to do than memorize all the uses of wolfsbane."

"Er," said Lily, "I think I'll head down to the library. Need to look up a few things."

"Mmhmm," said Asper indifferently, her light blond hair now standing on end from running her fingers through it.

Lily had settled herself at a desk behind a long row of books when she heard a large crowd come in. The shelves prevented her from seeing who it was, but she was about to leave when she heard a familiar voice.

"It was nothing," the voice was saying. "I mean, ok, it was something, but not much. It was right there, I should've seen it earlier than I did. Especially since our Beaters were so incredible; I didn't have to worry about a Bludger all game."

Lines creased Lily's forehead as she tiptoed away, in search of a quieter place to study.

"All right," she muttered to herself, rubbing her eyes. "Muggle Studies, and then I'm done." She flipped to the assigned chapter, which was on justice systems.

_In __America_ she read, _the verdict of most crimes is determined by a james, though the number of members in the james can vary._

She shook her head. Determined by a _what?_

She blushed. A jury. She knew that. She was tired, was all.

Still, even as she left the library, she had a nagging feeling that she'd forgotten something, something important.

She returned to her dormitory to discover a miniature soap opera unfolding.

"You said _no?"_ said Esedora, thunderstruck.

"To what?" asked Lily, closing the door firmly behind her.

"I told Sirius I wouldn't go out with him," said Asper, with an air of perfect indifference.

Lily stared at her. "But you've liked him for ages!" she exclaimed.

Asper shrugged. "I don't want to be one of those girls," she said.

"One of _what_ girls?" cried Lily and Esedora together.

Asper sighed and tried to explain, as though to a class of five-year-olds. "He goes out with a different girl practically every week. And I don't want to be one of them."

"Well, it's your decision," said Lily, shrugging. She turned to Esedora. "Anything new in your love life?"

"Well, he hasn't actually _asked me out_," she said, throwing a dirty look at Asper, "but we've been spending a lot of time together, and I think he will." She smiled a self-satisfied sort of smile.

"I see," said Lily, with a smile of her own. "Well, all the best to you. Remus is a great guy."

"No need to tell her that," Asper pointed out. Esedora began pulling on her pajamas in a dreamlike state. "Besides," Asper continued, "why don't you ask him out yourself? This isn't the Dark Ages, you know."

Esedora stared at her. "I couldn't!" she said in a very scandalized voice.

"Why ever not?" asked Lily, pulling off her socks.

She couldn't come up with anything.

The next morning, with furtive looks from her friends, she casually meandered towards Remus's general end of the table.

"Could I talk to you a second?"

"Sure," he said genially and following her a few paces away. "What is it?"

Esedora took a deep breath. "I was wondering –"

"I can't," be blurted, having realized what she was about to ask. "I'm sorry," he added miserably.

Esedora blinked as she processed what he said. "But…why?" she asked finally. "I thought we were getting along..."

"We were," said Remus, looking more despondent still. "That's the problem."

She looked at him, then trudged back to her friends, giving her head a tiny shake as she stared down at her bacon.

"I'm sorry," whispered Asper, patting her hand. Lily didn't say anything, as she knew exactly why Esedora had been rejected, and she was kicking herself for not thinking of it earlier. Remus was very, very wary of forming relationships. You had to be, when you were a werewolf.

A highly annoying little voice had begun to make its presence known inside of Lily's head. She heard it first when she found herself staring absently at the back of James's head during Charms.

_Don't you wonder why?_ the little voice said. _Isn't it obvious?_

Lily mentally kicked the voice and resumed listening to Professor Flitwick.

However, the voice did not go away. It followed her into her next class, which was Muggle Studies.

_Jury, Lily,_ said the voice mockingly. _Not James. Why were you thinking about James,_ _huh? Huh? I know why_, the voice continued. Lily raised her hand and asked a question she already knew the answer to in order to avoid hearing what she knew the voice was going to say.

But it just kept going. All through a prefects' meeting, the voice was poking her, prodding her brain, daring her to think the words. She refused. As the prefects packed up, she had a short conversation with James about whether one of the prefects was abusing her power.

_You like him_, danced the little voice in her head, _you like him, you like him, you like him, you like –_

"Shut up!" Lily cried, and then found herself with the interesting situation of trying to explain her outburst to James himself. "Sorry," she muttered, going nearly as red as her hair. "I didn't mean you."

"Hearing voices nobody else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world, Evans," said James with an amused edge to his voice. He left her with the distinctly unsettled feeling that he had looked inside her mind. In fact, it felt like he had visited her brain, roamed around a bit, and decided he liked it where he was and sat down right there.

"Get out," Lily muttered, thumping the side of her head. A passing third year paused, but apparently decided it was better not to ask.

_You know you do_, said the voice that night as she lay in bed. _Just think it._

_I will not._

_But you do_, it said in an annoyingly sing-song fashion. _You do._

_So?_ Lily asked it ferociously.

_So admit it already. _

Lily clenched her fists. _Fine. Maybe I might, er, like him a little._

_That's more like it,_ said the voice, cackling with glee. _Told you._

_Yes, yes, you told me_, thought Lily irritably. _Now will you go away? _She heard, to her great delight, no reply. Apparently voices in one's head only have one mission. Suddenly realizing what she had just admitted to herself, Lily groaned and put a hand to her head. _I can't believe this. I feel so stupid. I'm a Pottergirl! I thought I knew myself better than to fall for someone like him! How could I have changed like this? Wait,_ she thought slowly. _Maybe I'm not the one who changed._

_Maybe he did._

Author's Note: There were a tragic lack of reviews last chapter. However, I soldiered on, and cling to the hope that this chapter's reviews may make up for it. (Hint, hint.)

Also, since I start school tomorrow, there may not be many updates in the near future. Pre-Calc and AP Chem, man.


	13. To Have Someone Understand

A/N: It has been approximately forever since I've updated. Sorry! Although I must point out that if I were to get more reviews, I would probably be a little more intent on working on this…

To Have Someone Understand

_"And for once it might be grand, to have someone understand – I want so much more than they've got planned."_

Lily was throwing herself headlong into her schoolwork. She had to take her NEWTs at the end of the year, and keeping herself busy had the added benefit of not allowing her to think about certain messy-haired Quidditch players. Not that she would have normally, of course. She couldn't care less.

Really.

This is what she kept telling herself, of course. She had no time for such ridiculous things. She wrote her essays, studied late into the night, and kept her mind as occupied as possible. This was, however, a lot more difficult that she had thought.

For one thing, she had to be particularly careful not to let anything slip. James being one of the most popular boys in the school, his name came up in conversations with some regularity, and she found that she had less control over the color of her face than she would have preferred. For another, her friends had not ceased to be amused at the late-night "escapades" (as Esedora called them) of a few days ago, and their frequent teasing did nothing to alleviate matters. All in all, Lily was not happy with the situation in the slightest.

However, there were other problems to consider. Esedora was still embarrassed about having unsuccessfully asked Remus out, and it was all Lily and Asper could do to keep her from darting into corners or behind doors if she saw him ahead of her in the corridor.

"Come on, Esedora," said Asper impatiently, "you'll have to face him eventually."

"Not if I can help it," Esedora replied obstinately, at which Asper and Lily rolled their eyes.

"Besides," continued Lily logically, "was it really that bad?"

Esedora stared at her. _"Yes."_

"Okay. Fine," said Asper. "It was the most horrible embarrassment of your life and you'd like nothing better than to crawl into a hole for the rest of your natural existence rather than have to face him and, y'know, be _normal._ Am I right?"

Esedora chose not to respond, but instead marched smartly towards the Great Hall for breakfast. Asper and Lily rolled their eyes and followed.

As the day went on, Lily and her friends (and, indeed, most of Gryffindor House) began to suspect a conspiracy among the teachers. There was simply no other way to explain the tidal wave of homework currently crashing over their collective heads. Those taking extra classes, such as Lily, were particularly overwhelmed by late afternoon. "I'm not sure I'm coming to dinner, guys," said Lily, looking ashen. She bent over her paper again, making notes with a quill that was beginning to run out of ink.

"You need to eat, Lily," said Asper, whose course load was considerably lighter.

"Yeah," agreed Esedora. "Besides, I need someone to sit on my other side to avoid…uh…conflict."

Lily rolled her eyes. "That is not sufficient reason."

"Well, homework isn't sufficient reason to skip a meal," said Asper, who would never dream of doing so.

"Asper, I have three tests to study for, fifty-seven Arithmancy problems left to do, and papers to write in Potions, Charms, and Divination!" cried Lily, sounding rather panic-stricken.

"Er," said Esedora, deciding that this was not the time to argue, "why don't we bring you something back."

"Thanks," said Lily, slumping back in her chair. Asper and Esedora left the common room, glancing back over their shoulders nervously.

Lily rubbed her eyes. She'd been working for four hours straight now, and it was nearly eleven. She'd eaten the sandwich Asper and Esedora had brought back for her, but that had been, according to her watch, four hours, thirty-two minutes, and sixteen seconds ago. Seventeen. Eighteen. She shook her head and peered more intently at her Arithmancy notes, only to be distracted yet again by a noise coming from the boys' dormitory. She swung around, ready to give the intruder a dressing-down, but discovered that it was, of course, James. The resulting mental image from her earlier silent threat made her cheeks flush, and she was grateful for the relative darkness. At eleven these days, most students were so exhausted that they were either in bed or asleep over their books, except for a few couples who took advantage of the desertion of the common room and the fire.

"Hi," said James, dropping down into a seat at her table. "Just remembered that I've got a paper in Potions due tomorrow."

"I finished that," said Lily, recovering, "but I've still got Arithmancy and Charms to do."

"Arithmancy?" asked James, pulling a face. "I hate that stuff."

"Join the club," muttered Lily, pushing her hair behind her face.

"There's a club?" asked James, confused.

"No, it's just...never mind," said Lily, her exasperation magnified by the amount of work she still had to do. "Shut up and let me work."

"Ah," said James. "I was beginning to worry; you didn't seem like yourself."

She glared at him pointedly, and he ducked his head down and opened his Potions book. By the time the fire had nearly burned itself out, most of the occupants of the common room had left, and James was almost done.

"Stir…clockwise…full moon…three dashes…" he muttered to himself. Lily opened her mouth, but decided the argument wasn't worth the effort. "Done!" cried James triumphantly, earning him a severe look from Lily. "What, aren't you?" he asked her sweetly.

"No," she said in frustration, "but I'm getting nowhere. I can't do Arithmancy this late at night."

"You hungry?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Didn't see you at dinner," said James innocently.

"Keeping track of my eating habits now, Potter?" Lily asked in a tone that was meant to be scathing.

James ignored the question. "C'mon, let's go down to the kitchens."

"Are they going to let us in? We didn't do so well the last time," warned Lily, who nonetheless pushed back her chair and stood up to follow him.

"Don't worry," said James, grinning back at her. "I can charm anyone."

"I've gotten that impression, yes," said Lily, delicately stepping over the couch cushions left on the floor. She didn't care to conjecture as to how they got there.

James shrugged. "Does it bother you?"

"Should it?" asked Lily as they exited the common room.

"I don't know," said James, sounding perplexed. "It always seemed to."

"Then why bother asking?"

James rubbed his forehead. "It was just a simple question."

"Nothing's simple with you," Lily retorted.

He stopped and looked at her oddly. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Nothing," said Lily, wishing she had more control over her tongue. It was remarkable how little control one really had over oneself.

"Anyway," said James, choosing to drop the subject, "we're here."

"It is late, Master Potter," said Piper sternly as the door swung open.

"How'd you know it'd be me?" asked James, smiling down at the elf.

"Who else would come at at this hour?" Lily pointed out.

"I don't know," said James, a smile dancing across his face. "I believe Dumbledore is capable of the occasional midnight snack."

Piper folded her arms and looked at him as menacingly as a house elf could. "Piper is keeping her secrets and her silence, sir."

"We were just wondering if we could get a bite to eat," said Lily hurriedly. Piper looked at her doubtfully. "We won't fall asleep. I promise."

"We'll go outside and eat," James interjected, getting a sharp look from Lily. "It's not that cold," he defended himself. "We have cloaks."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever. Can we have something to eat, please?" she asked the elf, attempting to remain polite in the face of an increasing hunger.

Piper shrugged her tiny shoulders. "We isn't supposed to refuse. But Don't. Fall. Asleep," she said sternly, wagging a narrow finger in Lily's face. Lily and James exchanged amused glances as Piper went off to converse with the other elves.

"Here you is, sir and mistress," said Piper, presenting them with two steaming mugs of hot cocoa and slices of cinnamon toast. "And," she added conspiratorally, "Webby is informing me that the sky is very brighted tonight. She is looking in the Great Hall, sir, and is seeing this."

"Thanks, Piper," muttered James, his ears going red. "C'mon," he added to Lily, who was looking at him curiously.

"What was that all about?" she asked him as they headed for the door that would send them outside.

"Nothing," said James. "Piper's a little off sometimes. Probably got into the Butterbeer a little too heavily tonight. You know house-elves."

Lily shrugged. "Not really," she said, but James didn't elaborate.

"Hey, listen," he said, once they were outside. "Y'know your friend Esedora?"

"No," said Lily sarcastically, "I make a habit of pretending to be friends with people when, in fact, they're total strangers."

James sighed. "You know what I mean. And I assume you know about…well, Remus?"

"Yes," said Lily curiously, wondering where this was going.  
"She can't know," said James. "He's beating himself up about it – bit annoying, really – but he can't get involved with her, because she can't know, because then she wouldn't want to, and…and it's just very complicated," he finished, sounding uncertain.

"I know," said Lily. "And tell him not to worry, I won't breathe a word. I wish he would tell her, though. I don't see a huge amount of harm; she's trustworthy."

"She is," said James, nodding, "and don't think we haven't tried to convince him. He just won't have any of it."

"I just wish they could be…happy, y'know?" said Lily, aware of how trite her words sounded. She pulled her cloak closer around her against the chill and took a drink.

"Yeah, I know."

Lily looked at him in surprise.

"What? You don't think I care about people?"

"It's not that," said Lily, hedging. "I've just never heard you sound so…serious."

"Yeah, well, I try not to be serious too often," he said, giving her a lopsided grin.

Lily laughed despite herself. "Clearly."

"C'mon," James said, steering her with a nudge to her shoulder. "Let's walk around the lake."

Not seeing any reason to argue, Lily complied. "Wow," she breathed. "It's like a mirror." Every star that could be seen in the sky was reflected in the dark waters of the lake, giving them the odd impression that they were caught between two dimensions.

"I can see it from my window, if it's clear enough," said James, smiling at her obvious delight.

"Lucky for you," said Lily. She drained the last of her cocoa and made to put her mug into the large pockets of her robe, but found that it had melted away. "Great," she muttered. "Now I've got nothing to keep my hands warm."

"I could fix that," said James, and slipped his hand into one of hers. Her eyes widened, but she didn't pull away.

James continued to walk along nonchalantly, as if he were not, in fact, holding the hand of the girl he'd had a crush on for three years. Lily was having a little more trouble concentrating on the task at hand. It was no laughing matter, however, she thought to herself. He may have been able to hold hands with her without any adverse effects on his nervous system, but her own heart was hammering and she was having difficulty remembering the precise movements required for walking.

"So," said James innocently, "how're the NEWT preparations going?"

"Er," said Lily, "all right, I suppose."

"I should probably be reviewing a bit more," continued James, "but I can't seem to find the time, what with all the extra homework and all."

"Um, James?" asked Lily. "Must we talk about homework?"

He turned and looked at her. "You called me James," he said incredulously.

"That would be your name, after all," remarked Lily, who was relieved to find that she knew this fact, though she seemed to have forgotten her own.

James smiled to himself and faced forward again. "So, what d'ya want to talk about then?" he asked.

"Anything besides homework," said Lily, and her next words tumbled out before she could stop them. "Or we could talk about why in Merlin's name you're holding my hand, and what exactly the implications of that are, or why I'm not pulling away but am instead allowing you to hold said hand, or why we're walking around the grounds in the dead of night, or how the house-elves can make mugs that disappear like that, or whether Piper knew exactly what you were up to, or why I didn't know exactly what you were up to, or maybe I did know and I just didn't care, or why I can't shut up –"

Without dropping the hand he was holding, James reached around with his other hand to cradle the back of her head, then bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips. He moved away and smiled at her shocked expression, which was quickly morphing into a barely concealed grin.

"S'pose I asked for that one, didn't I," commented Lily.

"Yeah, you did – figured I had to shut you up somehow."

She swatted at his arm. "Jerk," she said contentedly, and leaned into him when he put his arm around her. They continued to walk along, now in a comfortable silence, and they came to an area of the grounds concealed from view from the castle by thick bushes.

"Wait here," said James. "I want to show you something, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Anyone. Ever."

Lily looked at him. "All right," she said, a bit suspiciously. "I've kept Remus', after all."

"Funny you should say that," said James, "he being the reason for this. Oh, and one more thing – don't be frightened."

"I won't be –" Lily began, indignant, but he laughed at the look on her face.

"I know. Just warning you that you'll be surprised."

Feeling that if she were surprised much more tonight, she might have a nervous breakdown, she sat on a rock to wait as James disappeared into the bushes. She heard heavy footsteps walking away, then heavy rustling of leaves, then silence. She strained her vision to see what was going on, but it was too dark. Then footsteps again – but strange ones, lighter sounding. She couldn't hold back her gasp as a stag emerged.

"Prongs," she breathed, feeling the puzzle pieces fall into place in her head as she reached up to pat his head. He nuzzled at her fingers, and it suddenly occurred to Lily what an odd situation she had gotten herself into. Here she was, patting the head of a very large animal – an animal which she she had kissed not fifteen minutes before. She noted with amusement the dark markings around his eyes, looking suspiciously like his own black glasses. The stag lowered his head so that he was looking directly into her eyes, then turned and bounded back into the bushes. A few minutes later, James emerged, looking slightly the worse for wear and sporting several twigs in his hair.

"Well?" he asked.

"Brilliant," said Lily, not quite trusting her voice, "but are you bloody insane? You're an illegal Animagus? Do you know how dangerous that could be? Why on earth –" She stopped, remembering his earlier comment. "Oh," she said in a small voice. "Werewolves are only dangerous to people."

"Exactly."

Lily stared at him. "I can't believe you would do that."

James shrugged, faintly embarrassed. "We thought it would be sort of cool."

_"We?"_ exclaimed Lily, gaping at him.

"Whoops," muttered James.

"The nicknames," said Lily, beginning to pace, "they're your animal forms. Padfoot? What on earth has pad feet? An awful lot, that's what. Wormtail…ew," she said, with evident disgust. "He's a mouse or a rat or something, isn't he."

"He's a rat," said James, knowing he was stuck. "And Sirius is a dog. Huge one."

Lily cocked her head. "You don't get to choose your Animagus forms."

James nodded.

"And Peter's a rat."

"I believe we covered this."

"That doesn't…concern you?"

"Look, Lily, Peter's our friend. I know a lot of people don't like him, and he may seem slightly rat-like in personage, but that's not really a reason to distrust him."

"Sorry," muttered Lily. "Didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't," said James amicably. "I imagine it's a bit of a shock."

"Yeah," said Lily, "yeah, a bit."

"C'mon," he said, putting his own hat on her uncovered ears. "We'd better head back."

They stood in the middle of the common room, neither one wanting to be the first to say goodnight.

"Well," said James, studying her face.  
"What are you thinking about?" she asked him suddenly.

He looked at her intently. "About how much I want to kiss you."

"Funny," said Lily, reaching up. "My thoughts exactly."


End file.
